


The Prince and the Princess

by Pembrooke330



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Breakups, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Jeronica, Jughead x Veronica, Lies, Love, Riverdale, Serpent Prince, Sex, Slow Burn, Veronica Lodge - Freeform, Vughead, jughead - Freeform, jughead jones - Freeform, northside princess, pearls and snakes, schemes, veronica - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 19:32:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14003121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pembrooke330/pseuds/Pembrooke330
Summary: At the very mention of Veronica’s name, the bell chimed on the door of Pop’s and in walked the raven haired princess herself, looking absolutely stunning in a form fitting, lacy black dress that left little to the imagination.“Oh my god! Veronica, you look amazing!” Betty said as she clapped her hands together in excitement.The two best friends couldn’t have looked more different. Veronica had her hair pulled up in a loose bun, tendrils of her dark hair framing her face, her smoky eye makeup made her look like she was about to walk a runway, not attend a high school gymnasium dance.“You look lovely, Betty. And Jughead, handsome as always.”Jughead had to admit to himself that he’d felt his heart thump a hard beat at Veronica’s compliment. It wasn’t every day a girl like her even noticed that a guy like him was alive. And he didn’t take it for granted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Jughead and Veronica slow burn. I hope you all like it!

Jughead rolled his eyes as he clicked away on his laptop, trying his best to show support for Betty while she practiced with the other Rivervixens. But this wasn’t really his thing, and it never had been. He wanted a cigarette, and a burger, a blowjob, and then he wanted to just go back to his dad’s trailer and finish the latest chapter he was working on for his novel.

“Jug…wanna head over to Pop’s with Archie and V?” Jughead looked up to see Betty waving at him to come down from the bleachers.

He didn’t really want to hang out with anyone but Betty. But he was also hungry. So if they had to do the double date bullshit, then so be it.

He nodded as he shut his laptop and stuck it in his messenger bag.

Betty beamed brightly at him, her face flushed from her cheerleading practice. Jughead wasn’t sure how she had wanted to be associated with a sport as daft and pointless as cheerleading, but he tried his best to not judge her. Something about being a Rivervixen fulfilled something within her.

“You two ready?”

Jughead turned to see Veronica headed in their direction. Her face wasn’t flushed at all. In fact, she looked as though she hadn’t even broke a sweat, and she had been out there hustling just the same as the rest of them.

“Yeah, let’s head out.” Betty replied as she and a Jughead followed behind Veronica out to the gymnasium parking lot.

Jughead immediately lit up his cigarette as they walked out into the freezing temperatures of a cold, February day. The darkening gray clouds in the sky were an atmospheric sign of the impending snow storm they would be getting later that night. There was an electricity in the air knowing that this was just the calm before.

“Archie said he’d meet us there.” Veronica was saying as she walked ahead, only turning her head slightly so Betty and Jughead could hear her.

Her cool demeanor was as chilly as the winter air, and it was something Jughead couldn’t help but envy about the raven-haired princess of the Northside. What he wouldn’t give to seem just half as unaffected at Veronica Lodge. He had tried his best to model the way she never seemed to get anxious, never seemed overly concerned about anything. It was like she worried about nothing, as if nothing could ever touch her.

It was just one of the things he disliked most about Veronica Lodge. The fact that she wouldn’t even care if Jughead disliked her.

Jughead didn’t say much as the three drove to Pop’s in Betty’s Jeep Cherokee. He tried to ignore Betty and Veronica’s chatter about their cheerleading practice and how Cheryl was drilling them like an army sergeant. She was desperate for the routine to be perfect for an upcoming cheer competition.

“I mean, the high kick is as high as it’s going to get. I’m not going to pull a muscle over it just to make her happy.” Betty was saying emphatically.

“It won’t be the end of the world if we lose.” Veronica replied sedately.

It was that comment from the “accept nothing less than the best” Veronica Lodge that caught Jughead’s attention. As much as he tried to not know much about the Trust Fund Princess, he knew that what she had just said was out of character.

He waited for Betty to say something, to have caught the change in tone as well, but she hadn’t seemed to at all as she continued to ramble on about Ginger’s impressive ability to hold the top of the pyramid like a linebacker.

When Veronica said nothing more, Jughead went back to staring out of the passenger side window of the Jeep, thinking about how much he wanted to just go home and enjoy the peace and quiet of his dad’s trailer. He needed to get some dog food on his way home for Hot Dog since he wasn’t sure for how long they’d be stuck inside during the snow storm.

Almost as if she’d known what he was thinking about, Veronica suddenly spoke to him pleasantly. A rarity.

“My dad said you could crash at the Pembrooke, Jughead. I heard that the county is urging all trailer park residents to seek more stable shelter for the storm.”

Jughead rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was stay at the bourgeois apartment complex with his boss and his boss’s daughter.

“No thanks. The trailer has been through worse and it’s made it through just fine.” Jughead replied flatly.

Jughead had been working for Hiram Lodge for the past couple of weeks when Hiram had hired some of the Serpents to do some work on his Sodale project. Jughead’s job entailed doing the mechanic work on the fleet of fancy work vehicles that Hiram had brought in especially for the construction of the state of the art facilities that would be the premier location in all of Riverdale for shopping, dining, and living.

Jughead hated having to work for Veronica’s dick of a father, but the money was too good to pass up. And now that Jughead was living on his own while his dad was in jail for some trumped up assault and battery charge on one of Hiram’s executives on the project, he needed the money.

The charges against FP were bullshit. Jughead’s dad had gotten in a shouting match with one of the execs when the asshole had said he didn’t agree with criminals working security and construction on the project. FP had pushed the guy, who had then taken a swing at FP. FP had blocked the punch and sent the executive reeling backwards and into a slab of wet cement that had just been freshly poured.

The whole thing would have been laughable if it hadn’t been for the fact that the guy had pressed charges citing that FP had tried to cause him great bodily injury. Hiram had done nothing to stop it, and now FP was sitting in the county lockup waiting for his pro-bono attorney to get his shit together so FP could get a hearing date.

“But Juggy, I’ll be worried about you. What if your power goes out?” Betty cooed as she took Jughead’s hand in hers.

“Then let me stay at your place.” Jughead replied with a sly grin at his pretty, blonde girlfriend.

Betty chuckled.

“You know my mom would rather gouge out her eyeballs than let you stay over. Especially after that time she caught us in my room.”

Jughead smirked remembering the day Alice Cooper came home early from The Register and had promptly come up to Betty’s room when she’d seen Jughead’s motorcycle out front. Jughead and Betty had been so caught up, making love in Betty’s childhood bed, that they hadn’t even heard her until she’d yelled, “Elizabeth Cooper! What do you think you are doing?”

To this day, it still made Jughead and Betty laugh. And she had made it hard on Jughead and Betty to see each other for a while, but there wasn’t much Mrs. Cooper could do anymore considering they were both 18 and would be graduating in just a few more months.

The three finally arrived at Pop’s and sat in their usual booth, and ordered their usual orders, but Archie was nowhere to be found.

“Where do you think he could be?” Betty asked curiously as she looked through the window to scan the parking lot outside.

Veronica shrugged.

“I don’t know…probably practicing with the band.” Veronica said as she carefully took a napkin out of the napkin dispenser and placed it on her lap, never locking eyes with Betty, nor Jughead as she spoke.

Archie had just recently put a band together, aptly titled The Archies. It had been taking up a lot of his time. And as nonchalant as Veronica tried to act, Jughead could tell it was bothering her that Archie was late. He could tell because she was doing that thing she would often do with the wrapper of her milkshake straw when she was feeling particularly agitated. She would tie it into knot after knot before flicking it across the table with one of her perfectly manicured fingers.

The three had just finished their meals when Archie finally arrived, looking frazzled and out of breath.

“I’m sorry, babe.” He said, a guilt ridden look on his face as he sat down next to Veronica and kissed her cheek before stealing a few of her uneaten French fries.

“Practice ran late. We just really wanted to get the song perfect. We were on a roll.”

Veronica smiled genuinely, not a trace of the underlying somberness that Jughead had noticed earlier. Her eyes always lit up when she saw Archie. There was no doubt that Veronica Lodge loved Archie Andrews.

“I’m just glad you could make it. I was missing you.” She replied before pressing her lips to his, her hand on his chest.

Jughead looked away, not comfortable to witness their intimate moment.

Instead, he turned to Betty, who was watching Archie and Veronica with a wistful look on her face.

For a split second Jughead felt that sharp edge of jealousy just beneath the surface of his skin. He wondered what Betty was thinking in that moment. He wondered if she was wishing that she was the one kissing the broad shouldered redhead instead of Veronica.

Jughead hated the nagging feeling of always wondering if he was Betty’s consolation prize, her backup plan, her placeholder until Archie Andrews finally noticed her. He knew she had confessed her love for Archie back when they were in 10th grade. But Archie hadn’t felt the same.

Over the past couple of years, she had seemed to get over him once she and Jughead had begun dating. But there was always that little thought in the back of Jughead’s mind wondering if Betty Cooper would always wonder what she was missing out on.

As much as Jughead loved his best friend, he was also the thorn in Jughead’s side. It was one reason why he hated these double dates. He always felt like that outsider looking in. He always felt like the loser to Archie’s first place. He had the love of Veronica Lodge and he’d once had the love of Betty Cooper too, maybe even still did.

Jughead could only wonder what that must feel like.

The four sat together for a while longer until Betty gave Jughead a look that indicated she was ready to go. Jughead nodded as the two got up and said their goodbyes before heading to Betty’s Jeep.

“You were quiet.” Betty surmised as she drive Jughead home to the Sunnyside Trailer park.

Jughead shrugged.

“I didn’t really have much to say. I’m really needing to get some work done on that English assignment.”

Betty sighed.

“Well, why didn’t you say so? You didn’t have to go with us.” Betty replied, irritation in her voice that Jughead was possibly blaming her for not getting his homework completed.

“It’s fine, Betts. I’ll just pull an all-nighter.”

Jughead hadn’t meant to sound as curt as he had but the damage was done.

“I’ll call you later.” Betty said once she had pulled up in front of Jughead’s trailer.

“You’re not going to come in?” He asked as he looked at her, but she avoided his gaze.

“I need to get home. I have homework to do too.”

Jughead leaned over and gave her a kiss on her cheek. He definitely wasn’t getting that blowjob he’d been hoping for.

“I’ll talk to you later. Night, baby.”

Jughead rolled his eyes as Betty sped away angrily. This was how things had been between them lately. After two years of dating, there were still good moments, but they were getting fewer. Instead, they were being replaced with lots of moments filled with annoyance and frustration.

He loved Betty, there was no doubt about that. She was his best friend, his sounding board, his comfort. But by next fall, Betty would be going off to college out of state while Jughead would attend Riverdale University. He wasn’t sure how being apart would work out for the two of them. Especially when they were already on shaky ground as it was.

Jughead sighed as he entered the house to find Hot Dog laying on the couch, raising his head just slightly to make sure the person entering the trailer was, in fact, the person he was expecting.

“Hey boy.” Jughead mumbled as he sat down his messenger bag and took out his laptop. He sat it on the kitchen table before walking over to the kitchen counter to start a pot of coffee.

It wasn’t really Betty’s fault that he’d not been able to finish his English assignment sooner. It was really his own. He’d spent too much time working on his novel and hadn’t prioritized like he knew he should have.

It hadn’t been fair to make Betty feel like it was her fault, but he knew it had just been his immature way to get back at her for making him sit through a dinner with Archie and Veronica. As much as he loved his childhood best friend, he didn’t feel as they had much in common anymore.

Archie was busy with sports and his music and Veronica. Jughead was busy with writing, his job, and Betty.

Speaking of his job, as Jughead looked through the mail, he noticed a letter from his boss. The fearsome Hiram Lodge. He opened it quickly to find his weekly paycheck along with a handwritten note from Hiram himself.

_Mr. Jones,_

_Please come by the Pembrooke this coming weekend. I need to discuss with you a business matter._

_Thank you in advance for your time._

_Hiram Lodge_

Jughead couldn’t even fathom what specifically Hiram would want to talk to him about, but he knew he didn’t have a choice. If the big man needed to see him, he would have to indulge him.

 

To be continued...

 


	2. Chapter 2

“So basically Scarlet was too young to understand that the South didn’t stand a chance. She was so incredibly naïve in the beginning, before the Civil War had broken out, but she was forced to grow up quickly due to being the only person in her family motivated enough to rebuild her family plantation. Her plight was certainly a coming of age tale.”

Jughead listened, somewhat interested, in Veronica’s book report on  _Gone with the Wind_. He wanted to believe she’d only rented the movie and did her assignment based on that, like most people would do in their AP English class. But knowing Veronica, she’d read all one thousand plus pages within the two week time frame they were given to do the report. It was one of those things that he had stumbled upon about Veronica, her nearly mutant ability to read at an unbelievably fast pace.

And it made Jughead chuckle to think about how it took Archie almost a whole entire year to read Catcher in the Rye, a book Jughead himself was obsessed with and had read countless times.

“Really? You did your report on a love story? Could you be more guileless?” Jughead asked, shaking his head as Veronica took her seat.

“I’ll have you know, Margaret Mitchell wrote a stunning portrait of the most influential war involving our country from the South’s point of view. It was rooted in romance, yes, but the historical aspect is quite persuasive. And besides, it was a lot more interesting than your report on  _1984_.”

Jughead could feel his jaw clench at the slight.

“ _1984_  is a classic.” He seethed.

Veronica shrugged.

“It’s been done.”

Jughead scowled before turning back around in his seat to listen as Cheryl droned on about Shakespeare’s  _Twelfth Night_. Leave it to Veronica to piss him off so early in the day. He didn’t know why he’d even bothered to say anything to her about her report. Talking to Veronica had never been a high priority on his list. But it was a pride thing. He didn't want to believe that Veronica might be more well read than he was.

He knew some of his contempt for her had to do with working for her father. For some reason, he felt a need to show her that just because Hiram Lodge was his boss, that didn’t extend to his daughter.

But Veronica had never once even mentioned anything about Jughead’s employment or the fact that her dad was the person responsible for his livelihood. So he really had no just cause to be so prideful around her. All he could think was that he could, in some small way, take out his frustration with Hiram on Hiram’s only child. Jughead knew it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t help himself. It was one of those frustrating things about when his insecurities took over.

The bell rang and Jughead rolled his eyes as Veronica moved past him and flipped her hair in that way she would tend to do. It was a proverbial “fuck you” to Jughead and he was well aware of it.

“Good luck on that calc test, Princess.” He said, a disparaging sound in his voice. 

He knew Veronica had been struggling in their calculus class and he used that knowledge to shake her nerves about their test later that day. He couldn’t help but feel she deserved it after her remark about  _1984_.

Veronica stopped in her tracks at the comment as she turned to glare at him.

“Oh, by the way, Juggikins. There were two typos in your last Blue and Gold article.” She said with a smirk as she gave him a wave and walked out of the classroom before he could retort.

Jughead could feel his blood boiling. Veronica had just delivered one of her classic verbal sucker punches. And he knew he’d end up taking it out on Betty later. She was his editor after all and she should have caught any mistakes in his work for the school paper.

So it was no wonder he was still in a mood when the bell rang for lunch and he headed down the hall and into the Blue and Gold office to find Betty working hard on her latest article for the paper.

“We need another editor. Someone who won’t miss mistakes before we go to print.” He said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Well, hello to you too.” Betty replied as her eyes flicked up briefly at Jughead before she looked back down at her laptop.

“There were two typos in one of my articles in last week’s paper. You _do_ realize how unprofessional that looks right?”

Betty sighed heavily as she sat back in her chair and looked up at Jughead with a goading look on her face.

“Really, Juggy? You’re going to be _this_ mad over something in a high school newspaper? Mistakes happen all the time. The world is an imperfect place.”

Jughead shook his head.

“If you’re not going to take this seriously then I want to be able to proofread my articles before print.”

Betty rolled her eyes.

“Fine.” She replied sternly, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Fine.” Jughead said as he turned to leave.

“Are you coming over tomorrow night?” She asked suddenly, the annoyance still in her voice but she couldn’t help wanting to know Jughead’s weekend plans.

“I can’t. I have a meeting with my boss.”

Betty nodded.

“Oh. Well, I hope to hear from you at some point this weekend.”

Jughead sighed. He knew she would find a way to make him feel like an asshole for the way he’d just acted towards her.

“You will. I’ll call you.”

And with that, he left the office and headed to his usual lunch spot under the oak tree in the back of the school. Mad at himself for being mad at Betty all because Veronica had found a way to piss him off so expertly it was if she’d taken classes on verbal combat.

He could only hope she wouldn’t be home when he went to see her father the following day.

\---

But she was home. When Jughead had arrived in the late afternoon at the Pembrooke and rang the doorbell to the Lodge penthouse, Veronica was the one who answered.

“Oh…Jughead. Hey.” She said, clearly surprised that he had been the one standing on the other side of the door.

“Not expecting me, huh?”

Veronica shook her head.

“Um…no. I thought maybe Archie would…”

But her voice trailed off.

“Come in.” She said as she motioned for Jughead to enter the expansive apartment.

Jughead had always found the Lodge home to be consistently dimly lit, almost as if they were living in a real life version of Louis and Lestat’s home in _Interview with a Vampire_. But there was something comforting about the snapping and hissing fire in the fireplace in the front sitting room. Two furry blankets lay draped on a suede caramel colored sofa. One looking like someone had just recently been sitting beneath it, a book lay buried in the fur.

“What are you reading?” Jughead asked as he pointed to the book.

Veronica chuckled, obviously remembering the row she and Jughead had had the day before in English class.

“Are you sure you want to know?” She asked as she walked over to the couch and picked up the book.

Jughead nodded.

“On a scale of one to five, how cringe worthy is it?”

Veronica shook her head, smiling as she handed him the book.

“A five. Very cringe worthy.”

But Jughead couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the book cover.

“ _1984_ , huh? I heard it was overrated.” He said as he raised an eyebrow at her.

Veronica shrugged.

“Okay, I admit it. I like Orwell.” She said with a grin.

It seemed a rarity to find a smile on Veronica’s face lately. She had seemed on edge in recent weeks. And Jughead was sure it had a lot to do with Archie.

She had obviously been expecting Archie to show up at some point. She was wearing makeup and it was as flawless as usual. She wore a black leotard with a gauzy black skirt over it, looking like the most elegant of ballerinas, her hair even swept up in an uncharacteristic bun. The glow of the fire on her olive complexion made her look like someone’s dream come to life.

It wasn’t lost on Jughead how beautiful Veronica Lodge was. He was well aware that she was naturally one of the most stunning women he’d ever met. And as much as he wanted to refuse the thought, he couldn’t deny that he found her undeniably attractive. But that was as far as he would go. He refused to see her as anything else but the rich, spoiled daughter of the biggest asshole he’d ever met and the girlfriend of his naïve and innocuous best friend.

Seeing Veronica as human was something he couldn’t allow himself to do, and he wasn’t totally sure why he felt that way, but that’s how it had been ever since the first day he’d seen her sitting in the student lounge of Riverdale High, looking like a movie star while scrolling through her phone and drinking an immense cup of coffee.

Jughead’s immediate reaction was to hope she didn’t notice him walking by on his way to grab a bag of chips from the vending machine. She seemed just like the type of girl to give him a look of disdain before returning to whatever was more interesting on her phone. He didn’t need any more of that than he already got from his fellow classmates as a Southside Serpent going to Riverdale High, all because of some loop hole in the system that he had stumbled upon and used to his advantage.

Getting a good education so that he could someday go to college was a lot more important to him than how often people hassled him in the hallways.

But soon, Veronica had found her way into his orbit when she’d begun dating Archie.

“Pony Boy here is your  _best friend_?” Veronica had said the first time she’d walked into Pop’s and discovered Archie and Jughead eating burgers and French fries one day after school.

Jughead braced himself, waiting for that look of disdain. But it never appeared. Instead, she sat down next to him and properly introduced herself.

“I’m impressed, Arch. I didn’t know you hung out with one of the most well-read kids in school.”

Jughead looked at her, his eyes widened for a mere split second, but she had noticed.

“Yeah, I see you around with your nose in a book. You sure know how to pick a good title. Though, you could expand your interests from brooding loner literature territory.”

And from then on Jughead had found Veronica Lodge somewhat tolerable, but always keeping his distance just enough so he would be ready for the day when the other shoe would drop and she would treat him just as every other Riverdale upper-crust treated him. Like the weird, jailbird for a dad, criminal gang kid.

“She loves Orwell, actually.”

Jughead turned to see the looming figure of Hiram Lodge entering the room.

“Who doesn’t? Certainly not Jughead. He did a whole book report on  _1984_.” Veronica replied as she gave Jughead a sly grin.

Jughead rolled his eyes at her.

Hiram smiled at Jughead as he reached out to shake his hand.

“Veronica tells me you’re an impressive student, Jughead. I like knowing that a smart guy like you is on my team.”

It was all Jughead could do to smile back and firmly return the handshake.

“I want to go to college someday, Mr. Lodge. Doing well in school is necessary for that to happen.”

Hiram nodded as he led Jughead over to his office.

“Money is necessary is well, and it’s why I wanted to speak with you. I have a proposition for you.”

Jughead took a seat across from Hiram Lodge as he began to understand what this meeting was about.

“You’ve been doing really well in the auto body shop of our little Sodale operation. So well, in fact, that I would like for you to take a bit of a management position. What would you think about that?”

Jughead sat up straight, looking Hiram in the eyes. He never wanted his boss to think he was the least bit intimidated by him, whether he was or not.

“I go to school full time, Mr. Lodge. A management job might take away from my studies.”

But Hiram shook his head.

“Your hours wouldn’t change. And you wouldn’t have to be on site nearly as much. You would come here a couple times a week to do some of the paperwork. You’re a smart kid and I could use you in more of a business administration role.”

Jughead wasn’t sure what to make of the job offer. He went with his first instinct.

“Can I sleep on it, sir? To think about it?”

Hiram Lodge grinned.

“Always the thinker. Of course, Jughead. Take all the time you need. Just let me know as soon as you have decided.”

\---

Jughead knew he needed to call his dad before he made any deals with Hiram Lodge, even if it was something as simple as a change in his position with the Sodale project garage.

He was just about to walk out of the front door of the sprawling apartment to call his dad when a noise caught his attention. It was coming from somewhere down the hallway. And ever the investigator, he had to know where the sound of crying was coming from exactly.

He quietly crept through the hall until he saw a sliver of light coming from a slightly ajar door. He peered in and saw Veronica sitting on the floor of her bedroom, her hair down and tumbling over her shoulders as she held her face in her hands. Her light sobs were full of sorrow, and Jughead was caught off guard, because he had never seen Veronica cry before. He’d never seen her look the least bit shaken or vulnerable. It was almost as if he wasn’t looking at her at all but at someone who resembled her. He wasn’t sure if he should say something or leave her alone, but knowing what he knew about Veronica, she would be mortified if she knew Jughead had seen her like this.

Jughead backed away from the door slowly and quickly exited the Lodge apartment. He took out his phone, but instead of calling the prison to speak to his dad, he called Archie.

But he didn’t get an answer.

He could only imagine that Archie had blown off his girlfriend for his band, and Jughead couldn’t help but shake his head.

“You’re an idiot, Arch.” He whispered as he headed out of the building and to his waiting motorcycle.

And then Jughead realized that he was just as much of an idiot as he thought about Betty and how she was sitting at home too, being blown off by Jughead.

Jughead sighed as he quickly shot her a text, got on his bike, and headed towards the Cooper house.

\----

“Juggy...yes…yes…oh God…” Betty panted as Jughead thrust in and out in a steady rhythm in Betty’s bed.

Her parents had gone to dinner and a movie giving Jughead and Betty the perfect opportunity to make up and make love.

Jughead waited until Betty had reached her peak before he allowed himself to come right after. He shook with his release before collapsing onto the bed next to her. Betty immediately cozied up to him as she always did wrapping her body around him as she tried to catch his breath.

“I’ll do you next, just give me a few to reenergize.” She said as she traced invisible hearts on his chest.

But Jughead needed to get going. He had to call his dad before lights out at the prison.

“I’ll have to take a raincheck on that. But I _will_ cash in.” Jughead said as he slid out from under her arm and began to get dressed.

“You’re seriously going to just fuck me and leave?” Betty asked, obviously annoyed.

“I made you come, didn’t I? Imagine if I left without giving you an orgasm.” Jughead said as he gave her a wink.

He wasn’t in the mood for a fight, especially after putting off calling his dad to spend time with her.

“Hmm…well, I suppose you’re right. I just wish you didn’t have to leave so soon.”

Jughead sighed.

“I know, and I’ll make it up to you. I just…I really need to talk to my dad about this Hiram thing.”

Betty nodded.

“I still think it’s a bad idea. I mean, he’ll be able to watch your every move at the apartment. Breathing down your neck. Sounds awful if you ask me.”

Jughead knew she was only trying to look out for him, but this was one of those times where he couldn’t take Betty’s advice.

“Well, I haven’t made any decisions yet. But at least I’ll be able to find out how Veronica manages to make an A on every single Physics test.”

Betty smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. Jughead wondered if part of her not thinking it was a good idea to take on the new position was because she was jealous of how much more time he’d be around Veronica.

He knew how much Betty had once loved Archie, and how she had ultimately lost Archie to the raven haired vixen when she’d rolled into town a few years earlier. Ever since, she seemed to harbor some kind of perpetual fear when it came to Veronica. Jughead had never been quite sure what it was until just now.

Betty was afraid she would somehow lose every guy she loved to someone else. A dark-haired, sexy, mysterious someone else.

But he didn't have time to try and reassure her, he had to get home. And once he was finally back at his trailer, he called his dad and filled him in on Hiram’s offer.

“Go ahead and take the promotion, Jug. You can be our man on the inside. Keep your eyes and and ears open like you always do. I’m sure he has something planned but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Jughead sighed into the phone.

“You sure about this, dad?” He asked, knowing his dad would know better than anyone else if this was the right decision.

“I’m sure, son.”

\----

“Veronica, did you see the decorations for the Valentine’s Day dance? Veronica?”

Jughead looked up from his laptop when he noticed that Veronica hadn’t answered Betty’s question.

Veronica glanced at Jughead before putting on a smile for Betty.

“I’m sorry, B. What did you say?” Veronica asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Is everything okay, Veronica? You seem a little…distracted lately.” Betty asked, concerned for her friend.

Veronica shook her head.

“Everything is fine, I’m just trying to decide which dress I’m going to wear for the dance. I bought at least a dozen.” She said with a laugh.

Betty smiled, a look of relief on her face believing that Veronica really _was_ just thinking about dresses. But Jughead knew better.

He hadn’t told Betty about seeing Veronica crying in her room a few nights earlier, but it wasn’t his place to say anything to anyone. He might not consider Veronica a close friend, but he cared enough to not want to embarrass her intentionally.

“So where’s Archie tonight?” Betty asked, changing the subject.

Jughead winced. He couldn’t understand how Betty was so blind to how often Archie had been absent lately and how that was affecting her best friend. Even  _he_  saw it. He considered talking to her about it later, though having a conversation about Veronica and Archie’s relationship behind their back made him shudder. That was the least appealing type of conversation he wanted to have about anyone.

But Veronica put on her typical, unshakable smile.

“Oh he’s just busy doing Archie things. He wants to get his performance for the dance down solid. So I’ve encouraged him to use any extra time he has to practice.”

Betty nodded.

“You’re a great girlfriend, V. Archie is lucky. It drives me crazy when Jughead spends a lot of time on an article. We have some serious perfectionists as boyfriends.”

Veronica smiled, but said nothing.

Jughead hated to see Veronica act so nonchalant when he knew she was a lot more upset than she let on. If she couldn’t be real with her own friends, then who could she be real with?

Almost out of nowhere, Jughead felt a sadness for the Northside Princess that he’d never felt before. Feeling sorry for Veronica was the last thing he ever though he’d feel in regards to her, but he couldn’t help it. Her perfect life was obviously not so perfect.

“Good thing I’m okay with his perfection since it gives us the best articles for the Blue and Gold.” Betty said as she gave Jughead a kiss on the cheek.

His eyes flew to Veronica, hoping she hadn’t seen the brief moment of affection, not wanting any salt in her already Archie-wounded heart. But she  _had_  been watching, with an emotionless look on her face. She never seemed to crack in public, and Jughead found himself strangely impressed by the ability.

“Well, I better get going. I have a dress to decide on.” She said as she slipped out of the booth and pulled on the hood to her cape.

“Bye V! Love you! Tell Archie we missed him.” Betty said before taking a sip of her strawberry milkshake and still completely clueless about what her best friend was going through.

Veronica nodded, glancing briefly at Jug and giving him a small smile before making her exit. He could see the glassy look in her eyes, the beginning of a fresh set of tears. He sighed to himself. Sometimes he wished he wasn’t so observant, easily able to pick up on such subtleties.

“So, I think you should pick me up in your dad’s truck, not the motorcycle. I mean, I’ll be wearing a dress and heels.” Betty rambled as Jughead watched Veronica get into her sleek, black BWM and drive off into the cold, snowy night. 

“Do you think she’s okay?” Jughead asked, interrupting Betty as she continued to drone on about the Valentine’s Day dance.

Betty looked at him, confusion on her face.

“Who? Veronica? Yeah, she seems fine. Why?”

Jughead shrugged.

“I don’t know, she just seemed…morose…or something.”

But Betty only chuckled.

“Wow, Jug. You really don’t know women at all, do you?”

Jughead sighed.

“I guess not.”

 

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey, thanks again for fixing my carburetor on such short notice, Jug. Veronica would kill me if I didn’t pick her up for the dance in a working vehicle.” Archie said as he sat on a stool nearby where Jughead worked diligently under the hood of Archie’s rusted, old Ford pickup.

Jughead nodded as he grabbed a wrench.

“No problem, man."

He paused briefly, not wanting to ask the question on the edge of his mind, but once again, he couldn't help himself. Seeing Veronica so uncharacteristically upset was unsettling and Jughead hadn't been able to forget about the night he'd seen her crying.

Speaking of the Lady Lodge, how are things with you two these days anyway?” He asked, trying to sound nonchalant but still interested enough to get some answers.

Archie shrugged.

“I think we’re good. I mean, we haven’t gotten to see each other as much lately, but Veronica understands. She knows how important my music is to me, and the band, and the baseball team tryouts.”

Jughead chuckled.

“You're spinning a lot of plates, Arch. Are you sure she’s okay with how busy you’ve been?”

Archie looked at Jughead with a puzzled expression.

“Why? Did she say something to Betty?” Archie asked, concerned.

Jughead shook his head.

“No, no. I just…I just noticed that she’s been a third wheel a lot lately at our Pop’s double dates.”

Archie grinned.

“I know you’ve probably had your fill of her, Jug, but bear with her. She likes hanging out with you and Betty. Even if I’m not there.”

It was obvious to Jughead that even Archie had no clue how quiet and solemn his own girlfriend had been lately.

And then he suddenly wondered if it was just him. Maybe it was actually Jughead who had never paid enough attention to Veronica before to know that withdrawn and morose was how she always was.

But he knew that wasn’t right. He knew Veronica well enough to know that she had always been stoic and strong and ready for anything. Something was definitely wrong, and his curiosity wouldn’t let him be.

“I heard you won’t be working in the garage as much anymore. Veronica told me about the offer her dad gave you. You going to take it?”

Jughead sighed as he turned to lean against the front bumper.

“Yeah, I think I am. Do you think that’s a good idea?” He asked, knowing Archie knew Hiram Lodge in a whole other way than Jughead did.

Archie nodded.

“I think it will be great. You’ll get better pay and a better working environment. It’s kind of brutally cold in here, Jug.”

Jughead laughed.

“I don’t know. I kind of like it. Makes me feel old school or something. You know, braving the harsh working environment and coming through tougher for it.”

Archie shook his head, smiling.

“Only _you_ would look at it that way.” He replied as he helped Jughead close the hood of the truck so Archie could get going to his band rehearsal.

“We’re still meeting at Pop’s before the dance?” Jughead asked, hoping Archie didn’t plan on bailing on Veronica for another countless time.

“Yep. We’ll see you and Betty there.”

Jughead waved Archie goodbye as his redheaded best friend drove his truck out of the garage and made the turn out of the Sodale project body shop.

And he found himself unable to help feeling sorry for Veronica knowing she had a best friend and a boyfriend who were both completely oblivious to whatever it was that she was going through.

Jughead knew she was doing her best to keep it together, because knowing Veronica, she didn’t want anyone to catch wise about how she was feeling. Being vulnerable was not a part of her brand and she was never one to wear her heart on her sleeve. She was as icy as they got, a reputation that she had worked hard to achieve, and she would fight to keep it that way.

What she didn’t know was that Jughead always took notice of the most subtle of changes, and she couldn’t hide from him. And something about that made him feel an obligation that he wasn't sure he wanted, but he found himself reveling in it just a bit.

\----

Jughead sat next to Betty in their usual booth at Pop’s waiting for Archie and Veronica to arrive so they could grab dinner before the Valentine’s Day dance.

Valentine’s Day, and Betty and Jughead had already had two arguments that day. And now they sat in silence while Betty scrolled through her phone while Jughead adjusted and readjusted his tie.

“Can we just attempt to have a nice time tonight?” Jughead finally asked the blonde beauty.

She looked beautiful in her pink dress with the poufy tulle skirt, her hair cascading down around her bare shoulders.

He still felt so out of place being with Betty Cooper. She was so virtuous and pure, living in her bubble of safety while Jughead was confronted with real life dirty and menacing shit almost daily. And it was a reason for a lot of their fights, the fact that they couldn’t see each other’s sides.

“Of course, Jug. That’s all I want. I mean, it’s Valentine’s Day for god’s sake. I even told my mom I was staying the night at Veronica’s just so we could have all night together.”

At the very mention of Veronica’s name, the bell chimed on the door of Pop’s and in walked the raven haired princess herself, looking absolutely stunning in a form fitting, lacy black dress that left little to the imagination.

“Oh my god! Veronica, you look amazing!” Betty said as she clapped her hands together in excitement.

The two best friends couldn’t have looked more different. Veronica had her hair pulled up in a loose bun, tendrils of her dark hair framing her face, her smoky eye makeup made her look like she was about to walk a runway, not attend a high school gymnasium dance.

“You look lovely, Betty. And Jughead, handsome as always.”

Jughead had to admit to himself that he’d felt his heart thump a hard beat at Veronica’s compliment. It wasn’t every day a girl like her even noticed that a guy like him was alive. He didn’t take it for granted.

Just then, Archie came in through the door behind her after having parked the truck as close to the front door of the diner as possible so that Veronica wouldn’t have to freeze for more than a few seconds in the frigid night temperatures.

He snaked an arm around Veronica’s waist after the two sat down in the booth across from Jughead and Betty.

“Glad you could make it out of your musical dungeon finally!” Betty chirped as the four friends sat together for their pre-dance meal.

Archie chuckled.

“Hey, you guys want good music for the dance, right? I had a million covers to learn.”

Veronica beamed as she sat next to her all American beau. Jughead had to admit that it was nice to see her smiling such a genuine smile for the first time in weeks. And he found himself remembering the days when Betty would look at him that way, but those days were becoming fewer and farther between. 

“Well, I think we’re just late enough to make a fashionably late entrance.” Veronica announced once they had all finished eating.

“Yeah, the band is probably ready to warm up so we can start the live music. Let’s go.” Archie agreed as the group of friends got up from their seats to put on their coats and head to the school.

As they walked out into the night, Jughead noticed that Veronica had barely taken her eyes off of Archie, but Archie hadn't even seemed to notice. Jughead shook his head, wondering if Archie Andrews would ever realize what a fool he was being.

\---

The dance was in full swing when Betty, Jughead, Veronica, and Archie arrived. Almost immediately, Archie gave Veronica a parting kiss as he went to join his bandmates on stage for a quick warm up while someone’s ipod was shuffling through the most sickening sweet of love songs over the school sound system.

“I can wait for everyone to hear how good he’s gotten. He’s been working so hard.” Veronica said as she gazed up at the stage.

From what Jughead could see, all of her sadness was gone without a trace. She had Archie back, now that the dance was finally happening, and Archie was no longer a slave to rehearsals and learning songs for his performance.

It wasn’t long before The Archies began their first cover of “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick. The whole gymnasium was dancing, all but Jughead and Betty who stood near the dance floor bopping their heads while Veronica danced alone to the sound of her boyfriend’s melodious voice coming out of the speakers around the gym.

She was dedicated, and it was clear. Jughead couldn’t help but respect her loyalty to Archie. Even if he wasn't sure that Archie deserved such adoration by someone like Veronica. It really should have been the other way around.

“Sure you don’t want to dance?” Betty asked with a sigh as she looked over at Jughead.

Jughead nodded.

“I’m positive. Why don’t you dance with Veronica? She seems to know what she’s doing a _hell_ of a lot more than I would.”

Betty rolled her eyes, but she joined Veronica on the dance floor anyway. Jughead smiled at the two friends as they danced together, jumping up and down and twirling each other. He knew it disappointed Betty that he wasn’t into dances or dancing or anything that had to do with being social at school outside of the hours they were obligated to be inside the confines of Riverdale High.

But it was what it was and she knew what she was getting into when she started dating him.

And as the dance wore on, and Jughead endured its incessant teen simplicity and indulgence, he found himself having an inadvertent Serpent meeting with Toni, Sweetpea and Fangs while Betty flittered about the gym talking to everyone from Ethel Muggs to Josie McCoy. 

Jughead fully enjoyed that his fellow Serpents had no problem with crashing a Riverdale High School dance, and that everyone was too scared to confront them about being there. It fulfilled Jughead's need for the occasional rebellious moment.

“So...you're taking that promotion from Lodge?” Sweetpea asked, cocking an eyebrow at Jughead in concern about what Jughead was agreeing to.

“Don’t have a cow, P. I talked to my dad about it. If anything, it will give me closer access to Hiram and his business dealings. I can keep an eye on anything that might be off.”

His fellow Serpents looked at each other as if they weren’t completely convinced.

“Just…be careful, Jug. You know Hiram Lodge is no one to fuck around with. And Veronica lives there too. Don’t go thinking that she’ll let you get your nose into her family business too easily. That girl is Fort Knox.”

Jughead shook his head.

“I don’t think she’ll be paying much attention to what I’m doing. She’s far too involved with her own life.”

Toni nodded.

“Yeah, but, she’s not stupid either. She’s sharp as a tack and ruthless when need be.”

Jughead chuckled.

“Toni, if I didn’t know any better I would think you have a little crush on Princess Lodge.”

Toni smiled as she punched Jug on the shoulder playfully.

“Let’s just say that I wouldn’t miss out on the opportunity if she decided to suddenly swing my way.”

\---

 

The dance wore on, and Jughead was beyond ready to split and head back to the trailer for the night. He'd officially had his fill and figured he'd met his boyfriend obligations for the night.

He was just about to go find Betty to see if she was ready to leave when he saw Veronica out of the corner of his eye, leaving through a side door that went out into the main hallway of the school. It was the opposite direction of the girl’s bathroom and Jug could only wonder why she had taken off all of sudden.

And always being the investigator that he was, his curiosity got the best of him as he decided to follow her.

When he found her, she was standing in the empty, dimly lit hall, her head bent down as she wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t seem to be crying but as Jughead got closer he saw her wipe her cheek before snapping her head up at the realization that she was no longer alone.

“Hey…Veronica….you okay?” He asked, approaching her as if she was a wild animal ready to pounce.

She was holding her phone in her hand, and Jughead found himself wondering who she'd been communicating with.

“Yes, Jughead. Why wouldn’t I be?”

She collected herself so quickly that Jughead almost questioned himself over having thought she'd been upset in the first place. It was impressive.

“You just seemed...I don't know...like you might be upset.”

She shook her head.

“I’m fine. Why do _you_ care anyway?” She scoffed as she began to walk down the hall, passing him as she swept by.

Jughead wasn't going to reply, but the words came out before he could stop himself.

“Because…you’re my...my friend, and I care if there’s something upsetting you. Is it Archie?”

Veronica stopped suddenly and turned around slowly to face him as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

“My life is _none_ of your business, Jughead Jones. So why don't you go and interrogate someone else.”

And with that, she turned back around and disappeared through the doors that led back into the gymnasium.

Jughead sighed.

He knew she was right to not want to tell him anything about anything that went on with her. Trying to tell her that she was his friend had been the wrong way to undo her apathetic demeanor. He had never once treated her like a real friend, the kind of friend you would tell your problems to. He mostly acted as if he just tolerated her for the sake of his best friend and his girlfriend.

But there was definitely something going on with the raven haired princess and Jughead couldn’t help but want to know what it was.

Especially now that it seemed as if it might not have anything to do with Archie. So far that night things had seemed fine between the two of them.

So he could only wonder if it had something to do with her dad. The mobster of Riverdale. What Jughead wouldn’t give to have some kind of dirt on the most feared and loathed man in their whole town.

But as far as he knew, Veronica may only be upset with her dad because he got her the wrong Couch purse, or whatever that fancy brand was called.

He waited out in the hallway a little longer, giving Veronica a minute or two to cool off before he went back into the dance to do some damage control apologizing.

But when he’d returned to where Betty sat at a table with Archie, listening to Josie and the Pussycats playing their original songs for the back half of the dance, Veronica was nowhere to be found. According to Archie, she had called her family driver for a ride home because she wasn’t feeling well.

Jughead had to bite back what he’d witnessed in the hallway, not wanting his friends to know he had been trying to pry. They both still seemed completely clueless about whatever it was that was bothering Veronica, so the last thing he wanted was for them to know he’d been paying more attention than usual to the high school’s resident New York sophisticate.

Instead, he and Betty left the dance to go back to his empty trailer where they spent the night together in silence, on opposite sides of the bed. Not the Valentine’s Day either of them had planned on but too tired to argue about it anymore than they already had.

 

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

“Jughead Jones, reporting for duty.” Jughead said when he arrived at the Lodge apartment for his first day working in his new position as a business manager for the Lodge Industries fleet department.

Veronica chuckled as she let Jughead into the main foyer.

“I’ll let daddy know you’re here.” She said with a half-smile on her pretty face.

Jughead couldn’t help but notice that Veronica had on a pair of dark yoga pants and a snug fitting t-shirt almost as if she had just returned from a workout. He’d never seen her dressed so casually before, and it was almost strange, but in a good way. It was almost as if her usual, impeccable way of dress was in some way her armor when out in the world. Her clothing choice was part of what made her seem so fierce and unbreakable. Seeing her in this different way gave her an air of vulnerability, and there was something very intriguing about a vulnerable Veronica Lodge.

“Ah, Jughead! Right on time. Come on in.” Hiram greeted cheerfully as he entered the foyer of the apartment and shook Jughead’s hand.

Jughead put on his best fake grin for the man he blamed for much of Riverdale’s problems as of late. The rise in crime, the rise in costs, the rise in jail time for people Jughead cared about. Especially FP.

“I’ve set you up a spot here in the dining room. I apologize that it’s not your own office, but it’s better than that cold garage, I’m sure.”

Jughead only nodded as he took a seat in front of the biggest and most expensive Mac he’d ever had the priveledge of seeing in person.

Hiram handed him a file.

“I just need you to organize and input these personnel files into our database. If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask. There’s a phone right here that is a direct line to my office and my cell phone. I’ll be stepping out for a meeting, but make yourself at home and take a break when you need to. Our cook has made a huge plate of homecooked hamburgers. They’re not Pop’s, but they’re pretty good.”

Jughead immediately began to click away on the computer as Hiram spoke. He didn’t like making eye contact with the boss, and it had nothing to do with intimidation.

“Thank you, again, for doing this Jughead.”

Jughead nodded again.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Lodge.”

Hiram smiled that snake oil salesman smile before rushing off to whatever meeting of evil minds he had to attend. Jughead found himself scowling at his back, unable to feel completely comfortable with why he was at the Lodge apartment working on an expensive computer at a dining room table.

He knew Hiram had ulterior motives, but what they were remained to be seen.

But Jughead found himself getting into the work at hand, and actually enjoying it. Administrative work was never his thing but he was able to make sense of it. And the work was easier than he’d thought it would be. Even though he knew there was some other reason behind this curtain of a new position, he decided he would still make the most of it. And in between the work, he would do some extensive searching through the Lodge Industry files on the computer that he now had access to.

\---

Jughead wasn’t sure how long he’d been going over the files Hiram had given him until his stomach started to growl and he knew it was well past dinnertime.

He made his way to the Lodge kitchen where he found hamburgers wrapped up tightly in tinfoil in order to keep them warm. He dug right in, enjoying the expensive kobe beef of the burgers while he munched on a bowl of potato chips.

Suddenly, Veronica appeared, dressed to the nines, in full makeup and hair. It was the Veronica he was so used to seeing and nothing like the Veronica who had answered the door a few hours earlier. Regardless of the sudden transformation, Veronica was beautiful either way. And he got no enjoyment out of admitting that to himself.

“I’m going out, Jughead. So don’t go nosing around. I don’t want to see anything about my family home in your next Blue and Gold exposé.”

Jughead chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Veronica. I’m not so desperate for material that I’d write about your family’s enormous crystal goblet collection.”

Veronica rolled her eyes, but he could see the trace of a smile on her face at the insult. The verbal sparring that had been going on between the two of them ever since the day they had met had always been a constant. And there was something about it that was just theirs, it was the only type of bond they really had. If it was really a bond at all.

“See you later.” She said with a wave as she left the kitchen.

He heard the front door close behind her and he felt his muscles relax. Why they had been tense in the first place, he wasn’t sure.  But he shrugged it off and went back to work, but wondering where Veronica was going, and just why she was going without her parents knowing or caring.

\----

“So how’s it been going?” Sweetpea asked Jughead as they sat around the Whyt Wyrm playing pool and knocking back a few beers.

Jughead always appreciated how the bartenders looked the other way when the younger Serpents drank. But it was just apart of their gang lifestyle. Plus, now that he had to work so close to Hiram Lodge, he felt he'd deserved a few drinks with his friends.

Jughead had been working in his new position for a couple of weeks already and it had been considerably uneventful. He had been waiting anxiously for the other shoe to drop but it hadn’t yet.

“It’s good. Too bad Lodge hasn’t given me anything substantial to go on as far as taking him down.”

Fangs chuckled.

“Are you still on that, Jones?”

Jughead shrugged.

“What? The man is a criminal dirtbag. My ultimate goal in life would be to see him crumble under his own empire.”

Toni shook her head.

“But if he crumbles, so does Veronica. She’s your friend, right?”

Jughead sighed. Even with being at the Lodge apartment a few times a week, he hadn’t actually seen much of Veronica. She was in and out and never made much conversation with Jughead. Even at school she had been keeping to herself a lot more. She and Archie seemed fine, as far as he could tell, but the two hadn’t been going on their usual after school double dates to Pop’s with Jughead and Betty.

Jughead found himself wondering if it had anything to do with what had happened at the dance. If having found Veronica upset in the hallway was the reason why she’d been so unusually distant. It wasn’t like Veronica to ever be embarrassed or ashamed of anything, but Jughead had found her in a vulnerable moment and that was not something many people ever saw her in. And if there was anyone Veronica wouldn’t want to be vulnerable to, it was Jughead.

“She’s _somewhat_ of a friend…I guess.” Jughead replied as he lined up the cue ball to take his next shot.

“So, have you seen her parading around in any of her expensive lacey underwear?” Sweetpea asked with a devious grin.

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“Is that really how you imagine her at home, Pea?” Jughead asked, clearly annoyed and uncomfortable with the mental image that he suddenly couldn’t seem to ignore.

“Hell yeah it is. Your buddy Archie is one lucky asshole.”

Jughead shook his head.

“I don’t know. I don’t really ask him about his relationship with a Lodge. I mean, he has to eat meals with Hiram. Sounds like pure hell to me.”

Sweetpea laughed.

“I’d manage somehow if it meant getting to have that hot piece bouncing on my dick.”

Toni scoffed.

“Oh God, Sweetpea. Could you be anymore chauvinistic?”

Sweetpea nodded, the smirk never leaving his face.

“Any news on when your dad is getting out of the clink?” Fangs asked, changing the subject as he threw a dart at a nearby dartboard.

Jughead shrugged.

“Not much. He has his hearing coming up soon. But his joke for an attorney says it’s not looking good.”

There was a collective sigh among the group of young gang members.

They all knew that they needed their leader back. The Serpents business had felt largely put on hold for too long now and everyone was starting to struggle financially unless they were working for Lodge Industries. And even still, Hiram Lodge practically paid them in peanuts.

Jughead knew they’d all have to come up with something to help the gang as a whole, and sooner than later.

\----

“You have to work tonight? But it’s Friday!”

Jughead sighed at Betty’s reaction. He had known she wasn’t going to like it when he told her that he had a meeting with Hiram that night and they wouldn’t be able to see the original version of The Wizard of Oz at the Bijou.

He was already annoyed that he had to take a private meeting with Hiram, and Betty’s guilt trip wasn’t making it any better.

“I’m sorry, Betty. I’m sorry that you’ve never had to work a day in your life and you don’t know what it means to have to earn your own living.” Jughead spat as he pulled up in front of the Cooper house to drop Betty off.

She quickly jumped off of the bike and handed him the extra bike helmet that he always kept on the back of his motorcycle.

“Wow, think you could be a little more pious?” She asked as stood next to his bike with her arms crossed over her chest defiantly.

“Yeah.” Jughead replied as he mirrored her stance while he sat on his bike, not even getting off to walk her to her door like he used to.

“Jug, do you ever get tired of all this bickering? I know I do.”

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“Here we go again. What do you want me to do, Betty? You know I have priorities, and I’m sorry that you can’t always be at the top of the list.”

It was Betty’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Oh give me a break, Jug. You don’t make me a priority anymore because you don’t want to. The only time I matter to you is when you’re horny. Other than that, you barely even talk to me anymore.”

Jughead gave her a look of pure exasperation.

“Don’t talk to you anymore? Seriously? Every time I try to talk to you about anything we always end up talking about _you_ and your cheerleading, or your book club, or the new pink ribbon you bought for your ponytail. We don’t talk about _anything_ with substance anymore.”

He could see the tears beginning to form at the edges of Betty’s blue eyes. He had gone too far, like he always seemed to do.

“I’m sorry." He sighed.

"I shouldn’t have said all of that. Let’s just…let’s just take a breather for the night and talk tomorrow. Maybe we can hit up the ice skating rink or something.”

Betty said nothing, only nodded as she turned to head into her house.

Jughead ran a frustrated hand through his hair before putting his helmet back on.

He wasn’t sure where things were headed with Betty, but it wasn’t looking good. But he had to push the thoughts of his weakening relationship to the back of his mind as he pulled up to the Pembrooke.

When he arrived at the Lodge apartment, he was greeted at the door by Hiram himself.

“Good evening, Jughead. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice. I just wanted to get our talk in before the weekend.”

Jughead had a feeling that whatever Hiram wanted to discuss, he wanted to give Jughead the weekend to think about whatever it was. He could feel his pulse beginning to race, the fight or flight kicking in as he followed Hiram into his wall-to-wall mahogany office.

Hiram motioned for Jughead to take a seat, so he did, doing his best to not look as apprehensive as he felt.

“So, Jughead...I’m sure you heard the news about your father’s hearing finally being scheduled for 30 days from now.” Hiram said as he rustled through some papers on his massive office desk.

“Yes sir, he gave me a call to let me know the details. It will be nice for him to have his day in court _finally_.”

Jughead was sure Hiram heard the edge in Jughead’s voice. It was still impossible for him to not hold Hiram at fault for all that had happened that led to FP being in prison.

Hiram nodded as he looked Jughead in the eyes, his face not flinching a muscle.

“It will, yes. But there’s a reason why I asked for you to meet me tonight. I have a proposition for you. Something that will help you get your dad back sooner than you may think.”

\---

Jughead was still reeling from his meeting with Hiram Lodge when he met up with Toni at Pop’s the next day for a late breakfast.

“So Hiram is willing to have all the charges against your father dropped if you find a way to break up Veronica and Archie?” She asked in complete disbelief before taking a sip of her piping hot coffee.

Jughead nodded.

“I mean, it’s no secret that the man has never been fond of Archie, not even a little bit. But to want to break them up in order to have Archie out of Veronica’s life? It’s so extreme. I knew the man was evil but I didn’t know he was crazy as fuck.”

Toni chuckled as she shook her head.

“So what did you tell him?

Jughead sighed.

“I told him no way. That I could never do something like that to Archie. Or Veronica. But he asked me to at least think about it. He even had a legal binding contract already drawn up that said that if I am successful in the dissolution of his daughter’s relationship with Archie, that my dad will have all charges against him dropped and he will be released from prison immediately.”

Jughead paused, taking a sip of his own coffee to clear his head.

“I don’t know what to do, Toni. I’ve been thinking about it since last night. No, I don’t want to get in the way of someone’s relationship, but this is my dad we’re talking about. We need him. I need him. I don’t know how much longer the Serpents can survive without him.”

Toni put down her coffee and reached across the table to lay a comforting hand on Jughead’s.

“Hey, I get it. You’re in a fucking tough spot. Which is exactly what Hiram does to people. You knew he was going to ask something else of you, that this manager job was a ruse for something bigger. But yeah, this wasn’t what you were expecting. It’s a hard decision, and I completely understand. I can’t tell you what to do here, Jug. You’re going to just have to figure out what matters more to you.”

Jughead knew without a doubt what mattered more. His father. He knew he would have no choice but to go to Hiram on Monday after school and tell him that he would sign the contract. In the meantime, he would have to think of just how he was going to be able to break up two people who seemed to be so in love.

It seemed like the most impossible of tasks. But he would have to do whatever he could. His dad’s freedom was at stake.

\---

Jughead took no pleasure in the look of pure victory that Hiram had worn on his face when Jughead told him he would sign the contract and do his best to find a way to get Archie and Veronica to end their relationship.

But he made sure Hiram knew that he was only doing it for his dad, and that once FP was released, there were going to be Serpent demands that would have to be met.

Hiram hadn’t even flinched a millimeter at Jughead’s words, almost as if he were willing to take on anything, even the whole Serpent army, as long as his daughter was no longer dating Archie. The only person that Hiram had ever had to compete against.

Jughead sat at his makeshift workstation in the Lodge family dining room feeling sick to his stomach. He felt as if he’d just made deal with the devil himself and there was no getting out of it.

Now he had a real job to do that didn’t have anything to do with crunching numbers, personnel files, and finding ways to make budget cuts. He should have known that having a 18-year-old be a fleet manager was borderline insane of Hiram Lodge. But Jughead had known that all along, and fortunately, he’d proven himself regardless.

But no, now his job was to use his brain to try and figure out just how he would be able to create a wedge between Archie and Veronica, and how he could do it without Veronica catching wise to it. She was smart, after all, and she could smell a scheme from a mile away.

Jughead would just have to do his best to be smarter. He’d have to play this carefully. The future of the Southside Serpents lay in his hands.

 

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

It had already been several days of Jughead’s new contractually obligated position within Lodge Industries and he hadn’t gotten anywhere yet. He was now a con man for a con man and he still hadn’t grown used to the idea. Much less had he had an opportunity to try to put to use the ideas he’d come up with in regards to breaking up Archie and Veronica.

But Veronica hadn’t been around hardly at all. Jughead saw her more at school than he saw her at her own apartment. And not long after he’d started working at the Lodge apartment, he had noticed that there hadn’t been any sign of Hermione Lodge at all.

Jughead could only guess that there was some marital discord going on between Veronica’s parents, and it explained a lot about why Veronica had seemed so detached and forlorn lately.

He needed to find the opportunity to talk to her about it. He needed an edge to find out exactly what made Veronica tick. He’d need to know as much about her as he could if he was going to find a way to widen whatever cracks he could find in her resilient outer walls. And he needed to find out whatever he could that might help him to figure out how he could get her to break up with Archie. Because having her breakup with Archie seemed less cruel than finding a way to get Archie to break up with her. He didn’t have it in his heart, which was probably exactly why Hiram had chosen Jughead to do the dirty job he’d been assigned. Jughead was invested, and he’d handle it all as gently as possible.

And he was going to have to figure out just how gently he was going to handle it because the clock was ticking.

Just then, Jughead heard the front door of the apartment open and slam shut causing him to nearly jump out of his skin wondering if some thug Hiram had ticked off had come to settle the score. Especially when Jughead knew Hiram was out of town, having flown on his private jet to New York that very evening.

But the slam was quickly followed by the sound of high heels clacking on the marble floor of the apartment foyer.

It was Veronica.

Jughead jumped up from his makeshift workstation to let her know he was there so as to not catch her off guard.

“Oh, hey Jughead.” Veronica said as she kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the sofa as Jughead entered the living room.

She turned on the television to the local news and grabbed the nearest throw blanket.

“Hey, Veronica. Haven’t seen you around here in a while.” Jughead said as he took a seat on a plush, velvet chair.

Veronica sighed.

“Yeah, well…I’ve been crashing elsewhere most nights. But I knew my dad would be out of town. I just need a breather.” She said honestly and uncharacteristically mellow.

It was almost as if being inside a safe place for her was where Veronica let go of her usual steely demeanor.

“Do you want me to take off?” Jughead asked, knowing full well he needed to take advantage of being alone with Veronica to get started on his job. But he didn't want to bother her either.

Veronica shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. I know you have work to do. You’re not the person I need a breather from.” She said with a light chuckle.

Jughead wanted to ask her all the questions running through his mind. But he decided against it, knowing she needed some time to decompress before he attempted his stealthy intel of her. If he came right out of the gate with questions, he knew she’d know that something was up.

\---

Jughead had been working for hours, mostly on his novel, and had finally coming to a stopping point so he could head home, when he suddenly got a text from Toni.

_“Are you home yet? There’s a snowstorm starting outside. Just checking on you.”_

Jughead immediately replied as he quickly found a weather website on the computer. He hadn’t heard anything about another snowstorm coming to Riverdale so soon after the last one. Granted he'd been a lot more preoccupied lately.

_“What? A snowstorm? Are you fucking with me, T?”_

But sure enough, the weather map of Riverdale showed a huge mass of snow starting to fall on the small town. And it apparently wouldn’t be letting up until the morning.

_“I’m dead serious. Are you still at the Lodge’s?”_

Jughead sighed as he typed his reply.

_“Yes. Fuck.”_

Toni’s response was not what he was wanting to hear.

_“Stay there. The roads are starting to close. It’s getting messy out there.”_

Jughead got up from the dining table to go reluctantly let Veronica know that he would need to crash for the night. He knew she’d wanted the place to herself, and he felt guilty for having to stay, but he also knew it was the perfect opportunity for him to keep in line with his contract with her dad.

Veronica was on the couch, reading a book, when he approached. But before he even spoke, she looked up at him.

“Yeah, you can stay. The weather report said that no one can get in or out of Riverdale for the rest of the night. We have a spare guest room that you can stay in.”

Jughead breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Veronica.” He said, feeling grateful that she didn’t seem the least bit annoyed by his presence.

“So…what are you reading?” He asked as he took a seat on the couch next to her.

It felt awkward trying to make conversation with Veronica. He couldn’t think of a time when he’d ever been alone with her, much less talking to her one on one.

She shifted, as if she was trying to pull down her skirt that had hitched up while she’d been reading.

“Um…East of Eden. It’s one of my favorites.” She said as she handed the book to Jughead.

Jughead nodded.

“It’s a fantastic book. Steinbeck is a genius. Makes me want to try and visit Salinas Valley someday.”

Veronica smiled.

“Me too.” She said thoughtfully.

“Gee, I wonder what else we have in common, Jones.”

Jughead chuckled.

“Probably more than we think.”

Veronica nodded.

“I always thought we might. If we could just get past the stubbornness, we could probably be real friends.”

Jughead grinned.

“I’m willing to give it a try if _you_ are.”

\---

Veronica and Jughead talked literature and movies while Jughead made a fire in the fireplace and Veronica fixed them both a hot toddy made with her dad’s most expensive brandy.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen _Rocky_. It’s a classic American underdog story. And Sylvester Stallone is incredible.” Jughead said as he shook his head in disbelief.

Veronica smirked.

“This coming from the guy who’s never seen _The Wrestler_.”

Jughead let out a laugh. She had gotten him there.

“Well, have you ever seen _Fight Club_?” He asked her, hoping to stump her for once.

But Veronica smiled slyly.

“I own the DVD.”

For as long as they had known each other, the two of them had never sat together like this. They’d always been around Betty or Archie or other classmates of theirs. But the two of them had never shared a moment alone. And surprisingly, there was something strangely comfortable about it. Something so easy about just talking and sharing stories.

And as they both became a little more loose-lipped from the alcohol, Jughead found himself asking Veronica about her parents.

“So they’re separated?” He asked after Veronica explained that her mother was renting a fancy condo in one of the upscale neighborhoods of Riverdale.

Veronica nodded.

“Yeah…I don’t know if they’re getting divorced or not, but they can’t even decide on which marital counselor they can go see in order to help their relationship. They can’t seem to agree on _anything_. I think they're doomed.”

Jughead sighed.

“I know it’s rough, Veronica. My parents are separated too. My dad had _almost_ convinced my mom to leave Toledo to try and work things out. But then he got arrested and she basically told him to fuck off.”

Veronica gave him a sympathetic look as she reached out and took his hand in hers.

He knew she had done it because of the mixture of alcohol and the heart to heart they were having, but Jughead could hardly believe that Veronica Lodge had just made physical contact with him. He was sure he and Veronica had never once touched each other in any way shape or form.

“I’m sorry about what happened with your dad, Jug. My dad was a total asshole for letting all of that go down the way it did. And…I’m…I’m really sorry for how I spoke to you in the hallway during the Valentine’s Dance. I had just found out that my mom was officially moving out and it…it was really difficult for me. I couldn’t even talk to Archie about it because he was busy playing his gig with the band. I took my frustration out on you and that was wrong. I hope you can accept my apology.”

Jughead suddenly found himself overcome by a surge of guilt for what he was doing. Sure, the conversation with Veronica was real, but he knew he would have to ask questions to dig deeper, and he felt awful for it. Especially since he and Veronica were finally having a conversation without throwing in any insults for once.

“It’s okay, Veronica. I knew something was wrong. I knew you weren’t ready for anyone to know yet and I shouldn’t have tried to pry. But I promise you that things will get better, even if your parents don’t get back together. You’ll make it. You’re strong.”

Veronica smiled warmly at his words.

“Thank you, Jug.” She said before taking another long sip of her drink.

Jughead cleared his throat, feeling more nervous than he should about his next question.

“So how _are_ things with you and Archie lately? I haven’t talked to him much.”

Veronica looked down at the crystal goblet in her hand, watching the way the firelight bounced off the glass.

“We’re okay…I mean…things aren’t really ideal right now. Archie has a lot on his plate and I’m an emotional basketcase lately. But…we’re doing our best to navigate through the turbulent waters.” She replied with a sigh.

Jughead swallowed hard. He knew he was entering sensitive territory when it came to talking about Archie with Veronica. Especially about Veronica's relationship with Archie.

“To be honest, Veronica, you don’t seem very happy lately. Especially when Archie hasn’t shown up when he should have.”

Veronica shrugged.

“Yeah, well…I’ll take what I can get. Something is better than nothing.”

Jughead wasn’t surprised by her response. He’d known that things between Veronica and Archie had been strained for the past couple of months, and now that her parents were going through their own turmoil, Veronica wanted to keep something solid in her life.

“But that’s not what a relationship should be about. It’s a constant give and take. Not a take whatever you’re given.” Jughead replied before taking a swig of his drink.

“Well, that’s ideal, yeah. But…even though things haven’t been as good as I would like for them to be, it doesn’t mean I’m ready to throw in the towel. I’m willing to keep trying.”

Jughead could see how desperate Veronica was to justify staying with Archie even though the relationship was clearly not making her as happy as it once had.

He took a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to say may or may not be taken well by Veronica.

“Do you think maybe…I don’t know…that you’re trying to hold on to Archie so that… you don’t feel like your relationship with him will mirror your parents?”

He braced himself for her very possible denial of what he’d just suggested, but instead, Veronica looked at him thoughtfully.

“Well, well Jughead Jones, I never would have taken you for a closet therapist.” She said with a chuckle.

Jughead grinned.

“What can I say? I read a lot of Dr. Phil books.”

Veronica laughed as she shook her head.

“No you don’t.”

She didn’t answer his question, and he hadn’t really expected her to. But the goal was to at least plant the seed in her mind that maybe she was only fooling herself and it really wasn’t necessary to.

\----

“Wow the snow is _really_ coming down out there.” Veronica said as she stood by a window looking out over Riverdale below as it became blanketed in white as every minute passed.

“I’m going to go take a shower, but feel free to help yourself to whatever you want. Check out the guest room too.” She said to Jughead before heading towards her room.

Jughead thanked her again, feeling warm and tipsy from the alcohol as he circled around the apartment looking at the many family pictures that adorned the walls and tabletops. The Lodge Family looked every bit the normal, everyday upper class family you would see at the country club or an art gala.

But there was so much more beneath their glamorous surface, and he had learned a big part of that tonight from Veronica herself. No wonder Hermione Lodge hadn’t been seen ever since he’d started working directly for Hiram. He only wondered why Betty didn’t seem to know any of this, and yet, Jughead did.

He figured he’d talk to Betty about it later as he ran his hand over the shiny white keys of the grand piano before finding himself in the kitchen, wondering if the Lodge’s bought normal things like Fruit Loops and frozen fish sticks.

“You hungry?” He suddenly heard Veronica’s voice say behind him.

Jughead chuckled.

“I’m _always_ hungry.” He said as he turned to look at her, but suddenly not sure where exactly _to_ look because Veronica was dressed in a way he’d never seen her before.

“Sorry, but I just wanted to bum around in my pajamas. I’m so tired, but I figured we both could use some food before crashing for the night.”

“Bum” was the last word he would use to describe how Veronica looked.

In fact, she looked so incredible in just a tanktop and a pair of very short pajama bottoms that Jughead was hardly able to take his eyes off of her as she moved around the kitchen, grabbing all the ingredients to make them both peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

And his eyes continued to stay glued to her as he watched her reach up on a high shelf to grab the peanut butter, catching a glimpse of her flat, toned belly. She wore her bed shorts so low that he could see the curve of her bare hip and his eyes stayed there, wondering if her skin felt as smooth as it looked.

For the first time ever, Jughead was absolutely unable to deny how sexy Veronica was. And his pulse raced as he felt a twitch in his jeans. He had no idea if it was the alcohol, the good conversation, the being alone with the beautiful Veronica Lodge, but he felt beyond guilty at the thoughts going through his mind at that moment.

“Okay, so I don’t really know how to cook but I _do_ know how to spread peanut butter on some bread.” Veronica said as she took out two plates and walked over to the counter where he sat.

He watched as she carefully prepared the sandwiches, spreading the peanut butter evenly all across the two bread slices.

“I’ve never seen a person make a PB and J so elegantly.” Jughead said with a chuckle.

Veronica smiled, her eyes twinkling, making Jughead’s heart pound.

“Hey, Veronica Lodge doesn’t do anything half-assed.” She replied as she pushed Jughead’s sandwich towards him and pulled out a bag of potato chips.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Jughead said with a chuckle.

They didn’t say much while they ate, letting the food settle in their bellies and soak up the alcohol they’d been drinking all evening. But finally, Veronica spoke up.

“Tonight was fun, Jughead. Thank you for being there for me. I know we’ve never been close but it’s amazing what a snowstorm can do.”

Jughead nodded in agreement.

“Thank you for letting me crash, and for confiding in me. I feel like I haven’t seen a real smile from you in a long time.”

Veronica nodded as she took the last bite of her sandwich.

“I haven’t had much of a reason to. But, you know, this might be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

She and Jughead chuckled at how the famous Casablanca quote seemed to fit them perfectly in that moment.

“Well...good night, Jug. Stay warm.” She said with a wink.

And with that she left the kitchen to head for bed.

\---

Jughead lay in the soft sheets of the Lodge guest bedroom feeling immense guilt for the job that he had to for Hiram Lodge.

Sure, he had actually _enjoyed_ hanging out with Veronica. He’d enjoyed the conversations, the jokes, the drinks. And it had felt as though the two of them had just somehow broken through an invisible wall that had always been between them. But the new bond of friendship never would have happened if not for what he was forced to do in order to help his dad and hers.

The dishonestly was unbelievably tough, especially since he realized how much he actually liked Veronica. And how much he cared about her.

In the back of his mind, he’d always known that he would like her if he’d ever really given her a chance. But he’d never allowed it, and all because he was afraid of her inevitable rejection of him as a part of her life.

And he was still afraid she might end up rejecting his friendship. Which only meant he had to work fast.

So he devised plans in his mind as he started to drift asleep, hoping that he would complete the job he had sworn to do, get his dad back, and put it all behind him for good without Veronica hating him. And Archie too.

 

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Veronica woke up with a start, her heart pounding frantically in her chest. She’d been having an intense dream and now that she was conscious, she couldn’t remember what it had been about. All she knew was that she had been terrified.

She shook her head, as if trying to shake the unknown fear from her mind, while she pushed back the covers and got out of her warm bed. She slid her feet into the pair of fuzzy, purple bedroom slippers that her mother had bought for her last Christmas and sighed.

Her heart felt heavy at the thought of her mom and the fight that they’d had the night before. It had been so bad that Veronica couldn’t even stand the thought of being in the same house as Hermione, and she’d left her mother's new condo in a hurry to make it to the Pembrooke before the roads closed due to the approaching storm.

It had been a relief to get to her apartment, knowing her dad wouldn't be around, demanding an explanation as to why Veronica had suddenly shown up after having kept her distance for the past couple of weeks. She hadn't been in the mood to be questioned by her overly intrusive father.

Veronica quickly combed her hair and brushed her teeth before heading to her dad’s room to grab some clean clothes for Jughead.

It was somewhat bizarre having Jughead Jones, of all people, spending the night at her apartment. But strangely enough, she had enjoyed his company. She had needed it more than she’d realized.

Veronica knew that if she had been alone, she would have likely drank herself into passing out cold, and she knew that would have been the worst thing she could have done. Trying to handle life through alcohol was something that both her parents had always done and she didn't want to be that way too.

And it had actually been really nice getting to know Jughead in a way she hadn’t before. She felt as though she had unpredictably gained a new friend by having taken what had once been a very contentious tolerance for each other and putting it aside to see what was really lying underneath. What she had found was that Jughead was a lot like her in a lot of ways. It was an unforseen discovery that she couldn't deny.

Veronica carried a t-shirt and a pair of jeans in her hands as she rounded the corner towards the guest room where she had let Jughead crash for the night, when out of nowhere she ran right smack into a towel clad Jughead, fresh out of the shower.

“Oh fuck! I’m sorry!” She yelped as she stepped back, her eyes suddenly fixing themselves on him.

She quickly realized that she wasn't only flustered and blushing from having plowed into him accidentally, but also from her surprise at how incredibly good Jughead looked shirtless. She had never seen him in any other way than fully clothed, but noticing his muscular, tanned and toned, glistening wet body was something she had never expected.

“It’s okay. Nothing seems broken.” Jughead replied teasingly as he ran a hand through his dark, dripping hair.

“Are _you_ okay?” He asked with a warm smile as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Veronica wasn’t sure what to say for a second, for she was caught up in an unexpected thought that had suddenly popped into her mind. A thought about Jughead she never would have through she would ever have.

She wasn’t sure if she _was_ actually okay or not.

“Uh…yeah…I’m fine.” She replied, unable to look him in the eyes as she handed him the clean clothes.

“We’re still snowed in, so I brought you some clean clothes. You are welcome to use the washer if you want.”

Jughead took the clothes and nodded.

“You’re quite the hostess, Lodge. Thank you. I’ll try to get out of your hair as soon as they reopen the roads.”

Veronica shook her head.

“No rush, Jug. It’s cool.” She replied sincerely before she quickly headed to the kitchen to try and make some kind of breakfast for her and her house guest.

As she carefully read the box of Bisquik to figure out just how you were supposed to turn the powdered flour mixture into pancakes, she thought about how Jughead had been so much more open to her than he’d ever been in the past. It was so unusual of him.

She could only imagine that it might have been because they’d been drinking, and that maybe alcohol happened to be what it took to get Jughead to relax his unyielding exterior.

Or maybe it was something else.

She knew Jughead had an extreme dislike of her father, probably even hated him, and that there was some chance that Jughead wanted to get some kind of dirt on her family in order to find a weakness. Something he could use as leverage when it came to his dad or the Serpents if he ever needed to.

And Veronica had given him something. She’d told him all about her parent’s marital troubles, and she had told him while knowing full well that she shouldn’t. But she didn’t care. As much as she loved her parents, she couldn’t help but feel that they were both being total assholes lately. She wished they would just grow up and find some way to be civil, whether they were going to try to make things work or not.

\---

The snow had still been falling in the early hours of the morning, but by the time Jughead and Veronica were on their 3rd cup of coffee, it had finally ceased.

They watched the news to hear word about the road closures to know when they were free to leave the apartment, but so far there had been no luck.

“Of course the city spent the money that was supposed to be used to keep the snow plows in working order on that ridiculous, not to mention completely antiquated, Pickens Day festival.” Jughead said as he angrily turned off the TV with the remote and sat back on the plush couch.

Veronica sighed.

“Well, we may be stuck for now, but we could make ourselves useful and go help Smithers shovel the sidewalk.”

Jughead looked at her with a dramatically shocked expression on his face.

“Veronica Lodge would dare to shovel snow? But that is for peasants!”

Veronica glared at him.

“Hey, don’t let my perfect manicure and coifed hair fool you. I’m a Lodge. We practically invented hard labor.”

Jughead chuckled, shaking his head as he and Veronica pulled on their coats and gloves and headed down to the lobby.

And Smithers was thrilled that they’d offered to help shovel the front entrance of the luxurious Pembrooke. But they’d even gone beyond that, and shoveled as much snow from around the cars parked along the street until their arms were as limp as pasta noodles.

“I think we did our good deed for the day.” Veronica said as she and Jughead sat in front of the fireplace and sipped the hot chocolate Jughead had made.

“My mom taught me and Jellybean how to make her special hot chocolate back when we were little.” He had told her while he’d stirred some milk in a pot over the stove.

The sentiment warmed her heart just as much as the hot chocolate was warming her hands as she held her mug.

“I had no idea how strong you were, Veronica. You were tossing that snow like it was just piles of cotton balls.”

Veronica let out a laugh. She had been having such a genuinely good time hanging out with Jughead that she’d nearly forgotten to check in and see how Archie was holding up. But he hadn’t answered when she’d called. So she’d sent him a text, hoping she’d hear back from her boyfriend eventually, and wishing he could at least pretend to give a damn.

“We make a good team, Jones.” Veronica said with a smile.

And then there was awkward silence between them. That kind of silence when you just said something that could have meant something different and you wonder if the other person caught it.

Jughead and Veronica's eyes stayed locked on each other’s until Veronica finally looked away, hoping that the glow of the fire hid the blush in her cheeks.

Suddenly Jughead’s phone chirped and he quickly snatched it up, as if a distraction was beyond necessary in that moment.

“It’s Betty. The roads are opening back up.” He said, not sounding as happy about it as he should have.

Just then, Veronica heard a loud rumble. She went over to the closest window and looked down to the street below.

“Ah, yes. The snow plow cavalry has arrived!”

Jughead chuckled.

“Guess they sucked the funds from something like new wheelchairs at Riverdale Hospital to get those plows running.” He said as he stood up to join Veronica at the window.

“Well, at least they’ll have less gas to use around this street thanks to us.” Veronica replied as she gave Jughead a pat on the back.

Touching him reminded her of when she’d ran into him half naked that morning, and she suddenly felt herself getting warm all over again. 

She knew then that it was beyond necessary that Jughead leave sooner than later.

\---

Jughead couldn’t stop thinking about the past weekend now that it was Monday again and the snow had melted enough to allow everyone to get back to business as usual.

He kept trying to tell himself that the whole time spent with Veronica was only so he could collect information that he might be able to use in order to find a weak spot so he could start putting his plan into play.

But the truth was, he had seen a whole other side of Veronica that he had never known was there. And he couldn’t help but wonder how different things might have been if he had only allowed himself to see who she truly was all along.

And now he understood why Betty called Veronica her best friend and why Archie was so in love with her.

Veronica Lodge was a different kind of special and Jughead saw it now.

Which only made the job he’d been hired to do that much more difficult. Deceiving her felt wrong, even before their weekend snowed in together. But now, it felt even more iniquitous.

He could only hope that his plan would work and that it would work quickly and painlessly so that he could get rid of the nagging guilt that had been plaguing him.

“So are your arms as sore as mine are? Shoveling all of that snow was a workout.” Jughead said when Veronica walked into their English class, looking as flawless as usual.

She chuckled as she took her seat.

“Maybe you should try yoga, Jones.” She replied.

Jughead grinned.

“Just tell me when and where. I need all the help I can get in case another snowstorm decides to blow through.”

Veronica gave him a curious look, as if she didn’t know if she should take him seriously or not.

“ _Jughead Jones_ wants to try _yoga_?” She asked as she took out a pen and began to write on a piece of notebook paper.

Jughead nodded.

“Why not? I’m open to new things.”

Veronica shook her head.

“No you’re not. But here’s the information anyway. It’s Yoga Centric on Walnut Street. If I actually see you there, I’ll hold a plank position for five minutes straight.”

Jughead cocked an eyebrow at her.

“A what?”

Veronica chuckled.

“Guess you’ll have to show up if you want to find out.”

Jughead took the paper and stuck it in his bag. He had never even done one yoga pose in his whole life, but he knew if he wanted more access to Veronica, he would have to take up some things he never would have ever had a second thought about.

He found himself watching Veronica closely as they listened to their English teacher drone on about the position paper they would have to start doing their research for. Normally he would be listening intently and taking notes, and already deciding what his paper would be about.

But instead he thought about the differences between the Veronica at school and the Veronica at home. He found that he liked both. He liked how strong Veronica was around others. How she was so hard to break through to. She didn’t let just anyone in and it was obvious. Out in the world, Veronica Lodge was untouchable.

And then there was the unguarded, open and charming Veronica that he had just recently discovered. She was interesting and easy to talk to, and most of all, she was engaging. There was no apathetic exterior. No coldness. No arrogance.

They were two versions of Veronica Lodge that were both completely enigmatic. And Jughead couldn’t help but feel he’d been allowed to be let in on a secret that not just anyone got to know.

He didn’t want to lose that, but he knew he was risking everything she had allowed him to know about her, risking the trust she had put in him, and all because her father was hanging a carrot out in front of him. A carrot Jughead needed.

\---

 

“So what did you guys even talk about?” Betty asked, an interrogative tone in her voice as she and Jughead sat in study hall together.

Ever since Jughead had told Betty about his weekend holed up at the Pembrooke, she had been wanting to know every detail.

Jughead couldn’t understand where her paranoia was coming from. He’d never given her any reason to worry that he would somehow stray, even despite all their issues lately. But not only did he want to get her off his back, he also needed her help. Betty would be key to getting his plans rolling.

“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about, Betts. See, Veronica…well…she told me some things that she didn’t really want you to know about. She didn’t want to trouble you since she knows how much you have on your plate with school and everything. But...as her best friend…I think you should know the truth.”

Jughead proceeded to fill Betty in on what Veronica had told him about her parents and the troubles in their marriage. That Hermione was living somewhere else and Veronica was hopping between both homes, trying to somehow navigate through the upheaval.

“Oh my god, Jug. I had _no_ idea. I feel awful.” Betty said as tears played at the corners of her eyes.

Jughead sighed.

“She didn’t want you to know and she’ll probably kill me for telling you. But…I thought maybe you could talk to her? Maybe see if it would give her some strength. I don’t think things are good with her and Archie either and she’s holding on to him for dear life regardless.”

Betty nodded.

“I will, Jug. I’ll invite her over after school. I’ll see if I can help her somehow.”

\---

“Jughead Jones! Where the _fuck_  do you get off telling Betty my personal, private business?”

Jughead looked up from the Mac to find a very angry Veronica Lodge glaring at him as she entered the Lodge dining room.

She had just arrived home, and Jughead knew that she had been over at Betty’s. That Betty had unknowingly but willingly helped to put his plan into action.

“I’m sorry, Veronica. But she was grilling me about what we talked about while we were trapped in here with each other. And I told her because I thought maybe you could use your best friend’s help.”

Veronica shook her head as she folded her arms across her chest.

“That wasn’t your decision to make. That was _mine_. I took a chance to trust you, Jug. I should have known you’d blab it all as soon as you got a chance.”

Jughead sat back in his chair, not at all enjoying how upset Veronica was but she had no idea what his reasons were behind what he’d done. He knew telling Betty about Veronica’s parents was a big risk. He needed Veronica to trust him and he’d known he might lose the little bit he’d gained.

“It’s not like she’s going to write a story about your parents in the school paper or something. I had good intentions, Veronica. Do you understand that at all?”

But Veronica continued to scowl.

“Yeah, I understand. I understand that you couldn’t just let me talk to someone that wasn’t going to try and _fix_ it all for me. And now that’s what Betty wants to do, and it’s not what I want. I just needed someone to listen, Jughead. I thought you were the right person.”

Jughead didn’t even know what to say. He hadn’t even thought for a moment that Veronica had wanted him to be the person she confided in. He’d thought it had just been his way of questioning her, along with the alcohol they’d been drinking, that had loosened her lips into telling him her secrets.

He suddenly felt even more awful than he’d already felt.

“Veronica…I’m…I’m sorry.” Was all he could think to utter as she fought back tears.

But she shook her head again.

“Yeah…me too.”

She walked away and he heard the front door slam shut behind her. Jughead rubbed his hands over his face. He felt like a complete asshole.

“So, your plan isn’t working out too well then, Jughead?”

Jughead looked up to see Hiram Lodge standing in the doorway of his office, having heard the whole conversation between Jughead and his daughter.

“No sir. And maybe that’s the proof that I’m not cut out for this job you asked me to do.”

Hiram chuckled.

“Oh, come now, Jughead. I know you’re not willing to give up that easily. Enlisting Betty to help was a great place to start. But there are still other avenues.”

Jughead nodded. He knew what Hiram Lodge was saying and Jughead knew he couldn’t give up yet. Not until he’d exhausted all efforts.

 

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

“Thanks for making time for me, man.” Jughead said to Archie as the two friends sat together at Pop’s.

It had felt like forever since the two of them had actually hung out over burgers and fries.

“Sure thing, Jug. Especially since you kept my girl safe during the storm. I’m glad you were there and that she wasn’t alone.”

Jughead nodded.

“No problem. We made good use of the time by shoveling tons of snow. I think my muscles are big enough to beat you at arm wrestling now.”

Archie chuckled.

“Oh, you’re finally ready to take me on? Let’s do it!”

Jughead shook his head.

“Wait until they’re no longer sore. You don’t get an unfair advantage.”

Archie smiled.

“Deal.” He replied before taking a bite of his burger.

It felt like old times sitting with his best friend, even though it wasn't as innocent as it seemed.

Archie had no idea the betrayal that Jughead was about to unleash on him.

And it killed Jughead to do it, but as Toni had told him, he had to choose what mattered more. Getting FP out of prison had to matter more than Archie’s love life.

“So, speaking of Veronica. She told me that you guys haven’t really been able to see each other much. What’s going on with that?”

Archie shrugged.

“Like I told you before, Jug, my band is really taking off. And Veronica told me it’s okay. She’s fine with it.”

Jughead sighed. He hated having to do this.

“But don’t you think that maybe…I don’t know…maybe you should just take a break from the relationship altogether to focus on your music? That way you don’t have to feel guilty about not getting to see her as much.”

Archie gave Jughead a puzzled look.

“A break? Like break up with her?”

Jughead shrugged.

“No, I mean…yeah…like just a break for a while. It might be good for both of you. You know, instead of there being any resentment down the road.”

Archie sat back in his seat, grinning.

“I get what you’re saying, Jug. But Veronica swears she’s cool with how things are right now. Besides, she’s hot and _incredible_ in bed. You really think that I could give that up just because we can't see each other as much? Hell no.”

Jughead winced. This wasn’t going as smoothly as he had hoped it would go. Veronica apparently had a tighter hold on Archie than he had originally thought, and he realized it had everything to do with the “incredible in bed” part of the conversation.

And now he couldn’t get the image of Veronica in bed out of his mind, to the point where he was so lost in thought that it took Archie flicking a French fry at him, hitting him square in the nose, to bring him back to reality.

“Earth to Jughead.” Archie said with a chuckle.

Jughead sighed as he looked at his completely unknowing best friend.

“Archie…it’s just…I got the indication from Veronica that she’s really struggling with her parent’s possible divorce and…she’s really vulnerable right now. I don't think she needs the added stress of worrying about her _own_ relationship. I’m just saying, maybe taking a break from each other and letting her get through all of this without any other pressures would be best.”

The playful smile on Archie’s face turned into a scowl as Jughead spoke. Trying to convince Archie to break up with Veronica was the last thing Jughead had wanted to happen. But the plan of trying to convince Veronica to break up with Archie had failed miserably.

“Jughead, what did she say to you? Did she say she wanted to break up? Did she ask you to break up with me for her?”

The panic in Archie’s voice was evident.

Jughead shook his head.

“No, she didn’t ask me to do anything. She didn’t say anything about wanting to break up. It was just a feeling I got when we were stuck in the apartment during the storm. I’m just trying to find a way to help.”

But Archie wasn’t buying it.

“I can’t remember a time where you’ve ever cared about helping Veronica, Jug. I know you know what it’s like to have your parents separate, but it didn’t stop you from being with Betty. So why should it stop Veronica from being with me? I’m not ending it with her. She’s Veronica Lodge for fuck’s sake. I hit the jackpot with her.”

Jughead sighed heavily, and not just because he’d failed again, but because Archie wasn’t even making the slightest attempt to see how much he was devaluing the person that Veronica really was. She wasn’t just rich, beautiful Veronica Lodge. She wasn’t just some trophy girlfriend for Archie to parade around. She was so much more than that. And Archie's lack of appreciation for her was maddening.

Jughead wondered how in the world he’d never seen that before. And then he remembered that it was because he’d never cared enough before. But he cared now, and what he now saw was that Archie Andrews wasn’t good enough for Veronica. And that was maybe the only thing Jughead could ever agree with Hiram Lodge about.

\---

Veronica lay out her mat on the hardwood floor of the yoga studio that she visited almost daily. The yoga class had been one of the only things keeping her sane during all the drama that was going on in her life lately.

Finding things to give her peace were getting further and farther in between.

She was glad that she had at least somewhat made up with her mom, but she had decided to stay at the apartment with her dad for a while. Even though it was lonelier than it had once been without her mom around, there was still a comfort to her old bedroom. And she needed all the comfort she could get.

The only problem with her living situation was Jughead’s presence when he was at the apartment working.

She was still angry with him for having told Betty everything she’d confided in him during the snowstorm. She never would have shared as much as she did if she’d known he was going to spill the beans to her best friend.

Veronica hadn’t been ready to tell Betty everything yet. It was obvious that Betty hadn’t even seemed the least bit aware that anything was wrong. Veronica found herself envying Betty’s innocence and she just couldn’t bring herself to disrupt it by dumping all of her family drama onto Betty.

Plus, she knew Betty wouldn’t understand. She had never been through what Veronica had been through. And Betty always seem to have a need to make everything better even if all Veronica wanted was for her to listen and give her a reassuring hug. But even just that wasn't what Veronica wanted. What she wanted was for everything to just go back to the way it was. What she wanted was to be left alone.

But that was unlikely to happen when she looked up and saw Jughead walk into the yoga studio.

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me.” She mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

“Hey.” Jughead said apprehensively as he approached her.

Veronica glared at him.

“Why the _hell_ are you here, Jug?” She asked as she watched Jughead snap a tag off of a brand new yoga mat that he must have bought on his way to the class.

“I told you. I want to try yoga. I need to strengthen my core, or whatever.”

Veronica sighed.

“And…also…I wanted to apologize to you, Veronica. I’m sorry that you trusted me, and that I fucked it up by telling Betty. I made a lousy attempt at wanting to find a way to help you. I guess Betty was right when she said that I don’t know women.”

Veronica chuckled, shaking her head.

“It's okay, Jughead. I understand. But there’s something you should know about me…if we’re going to be friends.”

Jughead looked at her curiously.

“What’s that?” He asked.

Veronica smirked.

“That I’m not the kind of girl that needs saving.”

Jughead nodded.

“Got it.”

\---

“You did really well. I’m impressed!” Veronica exclaimed before taking a sip of her double chocolate milkshake.

Jughead had managed to convince her to let him treat her to dinner at Pop’s. She had been reluctant at first, but when he’d insisted, she couldn’t refuse.

Veronica had to admit to herself that she really liked hanging out with Jughead. She’s always admired him, had always thought he seemed so intense, deep, and extremely intelligent. But he had never seemed the least bit interested in getting to know her.

So she had kept her distance. And then the verbal sparring between the two of them began shortly after they had both received the same score on a Biology test, pitting them against each other for a spot on their teacher’s marine biology summer study course. Their shared trait of passionate, fierce competitiveness caused them to have a very unique, antagonizing relationship with each other.

It hadn’t been warm and fuzzy or close, but it had kept them both on their toes.

“I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I’d never realized how challenging yoga was.” He said before biting into his hamburger.

“Well, it gets easier as your muscles strengthen. Your balance gets a lot better too.” She replied, still finding it so bizarre that Jughead actually had done a yoga class with her.

It was strange, but she tried not to question it. She just wanted to enjoy the moment. Something about being around Jughead made her feel a lot less tense, almost as if she could just feel normal for a little while.

“So is yoga the only thing you do to stay so…fit?”

Veronica chuckled at the question, especially when Jughead suddenly seemed so uncomfortable asking it.

“Jughead, are you asking me how I got this body? Have you been checking me out?” Veronica asked teasingly.

Jughead shrugged.

“Maybe.” He replied with a smirk and a wink.

Veronica was caught off guard, her heart thumping at the way Jughead was looking at her. But she kept her cool the way she always did when she was out among the world.

“Guess I better tell Betty that her man is flirting with me.”

But Jughead shook his head.

“You won’t tell her.” He replied.

Veronica raised an eyebrow at him, grinning seductively. She was enjoying this new game they were playing.

“Oh? And why wouldn’t I?” She asked, challenging him.

Jughead chuckled.

“Because you’re a flirt too. And flirts don’t sell each other out.”

He had gotten her there, and Veronica had nothing she could say in return. Leave it to Jughead to take away her ability to have a good comeback. It was why she had always appreciated their banter with each other. There was something strangely exciting about it, like something was simmering just beneath the surface.

\---

Jughead’s heart thundered hard in his chest as he watched Veronica walk to her car after their dinner at Pop’s, and it had nothing to do with the intense yoga work out. He was starting to feel things he hadn’t expected to feel.

He realized that his Plan A and Plan B for getting Veronica and Archie to break up had both been total busts.

But now he had a Plan C, and it was something he hadn’t thought of until he had found himself turning Veronica’s playful joke into outright flirtation between the two of them.

He didn’t know what had come over him, if it was the endorphins running through his body or if it was some type of divine intervention. All he knew was that when he had noticed the way Veronica had looked at him when he somewhat admitted he’d been checking her out, he knew what he had to do.

Jughead decided to throw himself on the sword and find a way to make Veronica fall for him.

And to the point where she would no longer want to be with Archie.

He knew it was risky and he knew it could all go wrong. And he also know how next to impossible it might be. He wasn’t the type of guy that Veronica would typically ever want, but he would have to do his best to be as appealing to her as he could. Just how he was going to do that, he wasn’t sure.

Jughead felt a nervousness in the pit of his stomach knowing what he was about to do. And it wasn’t the potential possibility of Veronica falling for him, it was knowing that _he_ might be the one that does the falling.

\---

 

Veronica stood at her locker trying to gather the will to not just quit the day and go home. But it had been a particularly rough one and she felt like sulking alone in her bed.

She had received a C on her Calc quiz and the test was only a few days away, she had sprained her ankle at Rivervixen practice the day before and couldn’t wear heels, instead opting for her cutest pair of flats with the purple rhinestones, but it wasn’t the same. And Archie had just told her that he couldn’t hang out later because he had to help his dad with something at the construction site.

And as she began to gather her books so she could just leave and do her homework after a nice, long soak in her garden tub, she heard a voice behind her.

“So, what’s the final verdict on your quiz?” She turned to see Jughead giving her that awkward smile he always gave her as if talking to her nicely was way too weird for him to handle.

She didn’t say anything as she handed him the quiz.

Jughead winced.

“Shit, Veronica. This is going to bring your average way down unless you ace that test.”

Veronica scoffed.

“Yeah, tell me something I _don’t_ know.” She said as she took the quiz back from Jughead and crumpled it into a ball.

Jughead sighed.

“Hey, don’t stress it. I can help.”

Veronica looked at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head.

“ _You_ can help?” She asked as she closed her locker door and leaned against it.

Jughead nodded.

“When I come by tomorrow night we can go over what’s going to be on the test.”

Veronica shook her head.

“I know you have the best grade in the class, Jug, but I’m not sure even _your_ mind-numbing calculus abilities can help me.”

Jughead chuckled.

“It can’t hurt.”

\---

Jughead sat in the Whyt Wyrm listening to the meeting of the older Serpents as they discussed how to come up with some extra cash to support one of the families that had been destitute ever since Hiram Lodge had fired two of the family members over a ridiculously trumped up dispute.

“If we all pitch in $20, we can get them through the month.” One of the elder Serpents said with a sigh as he removed the hat from his head and put in a $20 bill.

He passed the hat to the next Serpent who also took out a $20 to add to the hat.

The hat made its way around the bar as everyone who had cash on them contributed.

“This is fucking awful.” Jughead seethed as he sat next to Toni.

Toni nodded.

“It is…so maybe you could talk to Veronica…” She suggested quietly.

Jughead looked at her, unable to hide the look of annoyance on his face.

“Are you serious? Why do you even think for a second that she’d help me?”

Toni shrugged.

“You guys are building up a rapport, right?”

Jughead sighed.

“Yeah…yeah, I think so.”

Toni smirked.

“Wow, so you’re obviously feeling some mad guilt. Why _is_ that exactly?” Toni asked teasingly.

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“Are you trying to suggest something, T?”

He knew there was no getting by Toni. She knew him far too well.

“I mean, I know you said you were going to have to be the one that came in between her and Archie. I figured you’ve been laying on the charm. And if you’re feeling this guilty about it, it must be working.”

Jughead took off his beanie to run a hand through his dark hair.

“This is a lot harder than I thought it would be, Toni. It’s driving me crazy.”

Toni nodded.

“I’m sure it is. So maybe you should just go with it. Don’t over plan anything. Just let it flow. I know you have a deadline on this, but you need to use the time as wisely as you can.”

Jughead sighed again, but said nothing.

“And if you ever go to yoga again, please take me with you.”

Toni and Jughead chuckled. Leave it to his best friend on the Southside to make light of the situation he was in, and he was grateful for it.

“It will work out, Jug, I know it. You’re a smart guy and you can get this breakup to happen so we get your dad back. We won’t be throwing in twenty dollar bills into hats much longer.”

Jughead nodded.

He had no choice but to believe that Toni was right.

\---

 

“I’m never going to get this.” Veronica moaned as she and Jughead sat on the floor, their calculus books and practice papers spread on top of the coffee table.

Jughead had been helping her for over an hour already and she was barely making any headway. She wasn’t sure if it was just the math she was having trouble with or how distracted she felt sitting with Jughead like this. He had been so willing to help her when just a few weeks earlier he had been mocking her for not doing well.

She knew they had broken through their daily torment of each other and reached newfound understanding of each other, but she still found it strange that Jughead was so willing to be around her. She didn’t want to question his motives, but it was difficult not to.

He was a Serpent after all, and her father had told her to never trust one. But she’d never found any reason to not trust Jughead. He didn’t seem anything like the gang people her dad had told her about. And neither did Jughead’s friends on the Southside. They had all seemed like perfectly decent people to her.

But there was still something that nagged at her about Jughead, but she just couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

“Yes you _will_. You’ll get it, just stay with me. I’ll show you again.”

Veronica listened intently as Jughead explained the problem for a second time and how to go about getting the right answer.

“Okay, now, try the next one.”

Veronica did as he said.

“Okay, I use the limit definition to compute the derivative.” She mumbled to herself as she plugged in the numbers on her calculator.

Finally, she found what she thought was the right answer and wrote it down on her paper.

Jughead looked over to see what she had written.

“You got it.” He said proudly as he gave her a high five.

Veronica beamed.

“Oh my god. I think I finally understand it! Thank you, Jug.”

She smiled at her paper before looking up at him, suddenly caught off guard by the way he was looking at her while she celebrated her small mathematic accomplishment.

“What?” She asked him with a chuckle.

Jughead shrugged.

“Nothing.” He replied with a shy smile before changing the subject from math to something on a more personal note.

“I was wondering if you want to maybe go grab a bite at Pop’s? You know, celebrate your mathematical victory?”

Veronica smiled at the offer. But it still felt so foreign anytime she hung out with Jughead willingly.

“I can’t. Archie is supposed to come by. In fact, he should be here any minute.”

She saw the smile fade from Jughead’s face at the mention of Archie, and she wondered if the two friends were having one of their many misunderstandings that they’d often had ever since Jughead joined the Serpents years earlier.

But before she could ask, the doorbell rang. She jumped up to let Archie in, feeling as though it had been forever since he’d last stepped foot in her apartment.

“Hey babe. You look amazing.” Archie said with a warm grin before giving Veronica a long kiss on the lips.

“Hey yourself. What took you so long?”

Archie wrapped an arm around her waist as they entered the living room to see Jughead still on the floor, wearing a scowl on his face.

“Hey, Jug. You working here tonight?” Archie asked his beanie clad best friend, not answering Veronica’s question.

Jughead nodded.

“Yeah…and I better get started on checking emails…” Jughead replied as he abruptly shut his text book and got up to head to the dining room.

It wasn’t lost on Veronica that Jughead was upset about something. Apart of her wondered if it was because she was spending time with Archie instead of taking Jughead up on his dinner offer.

But she quickly put the thought out of her mind. There was no way Jughead would be upset about something like that. That he could possibly be jealous. That just seemed far too impossible.

She couldn’t stop thinking about the angst ridden look on Jughead’s face as she took Archie by the hand and led him to her bedroom. So there was only one thing she could think to do to get Jughead out of her thoughts.

“I’ve missed you.” Archie murmured as he undressed her while she unzipped his jeans.

“Just make love to me.” She answered back as she pushed him down onto her bed.

Archie looked up at her, grinning deviously, taking her commands as foreplay and not for what it really was.

That it was really because she was out to prove something to no one but herself. To prove that she still loved Archie Andrews, only Archie Andrews, and that she wasn’t beginning to feel something that she shouldn't be feeling for his best friend.

 

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Jughead lay in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He didn’t even want to look at the clock to see how late it was as he shut his eyes tightly again only to see the same image of Veronica that had been haunting him all night.

It was an image of her laying underneath him, her black hair fanned out over his pillows, biting her lip and moaning softly as he made love to her.

He couldn’t get the thought out of his mind.

And it had been this way ever since he’d gone to her bedroom door to let her and Archie know that he was heading out for the night.

But before he’d even knocked, he’d heard the sounds. The sounds of a woman being pleasured so well that she couldn’t even speak, all she could do was sigh and pant and cry out with lust at what she was experiencing.

It was the sound of Veronica being made love to. And suddenly, Jughead's heart thundered in his chest, wanting nothing more than to be the person responsible for eliciting those sounds from her incredible lips.

He had felt like a creep, but he had backed away from the door and left the apartment in a hurry. He sped home on his motorcycle, wanting nothing more than to get as far away as possible from her, and Archie, and what they were doing together.

But she still invaded his thoughts, and he was helpless to rid her from them.

Finally, he relented to his unyielding need to get her out of his mind just long enough so he could fall asleep. Hoping to God she didn't claim his subconscious as well.

He reached his hand underneath the waistband of his boxer shorts, groaning quietly as he touched his hardened length, stroking slowly at first and building up to a steady rhythm.

He hated what he was doing, but only because of who he was thinking about while he did it.

But thinking about Veronica wouldn’t go away, and he was desperately hoping that he would be able to forget about everything he’d heard on the other side of her bedroom door if he just gave in.

“ _Fuck_ …” He moaned as he shook from his release, hoping that would be all he had needed to do in order to finally get some peace to sleep.

But Jughead’s mind continued to churn with thoughts of the Northside princess.

He had been genuinely disappointed by Veronica turning down his offer to take her out to dinner. And he realized that asking her to go had nothing to do with his plan. He had wanted to spend more time with her. He had wanted to celebrate how proud he was of her for sticking with the difficult calculus problems he’d thrown at her. As much as he loathed to admit it, he was intensely attracted to her, and he liked her. He liked her a lot more than he should.

Jughead knew he’d been too obvious about his disappointment, because Veronica had given him a look as if she felt sorry for him. And the last thing Jughead wanted was for Veronica to feel sorry for him.

“She still thinks you're some kind of Serpent loser scumbag.” He whispered to himself, angry that he’d allowed himself to be in a position he'd never wanted to be in: let down by Veronica Lodge.

He had been beyond frustrated when Archie had shown up, later than he was supposed to be, and looking like he didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it. He had no idea how lucky he was so be holding Veronica’s heart in his hands. It made Jughead fume with anger.

And then Veronica had given Archie that smile. The smile that she only had for Archie. The smile that Jughead could only wonder what it would be like to be on the receiving end of.

It had pissed him off more than it should have, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

He was definitely more invested in Veronica than he had ever planned on being, and it did nothing but bring him complete torment.

To the point that he had even ignored Betty’s text message asking him to call her. He was letting his own relationship fall by the wayside all because of a girl he likely had no chance of ever getting to look his way.

She was still too in love with Archie, and Jughead realized that he had no choice but to ask Hiram if there was anything else he could possibly do in order to get the charges against his father dropped.

He would tell Hiram he’d failed. And in more ways than one.

\---

Veronica eyed Jughead in English class. He had been particularly quiet ever since he’d helped her with her calculus earlier that week. She wondered if he really was mad at her and that she wasn’t just being paranoid.

She had gotten attached to him, to his friendship, and couldn't bear for him to be upset. She was determined to find out what was wrong.

“Jug, wait up.” She called to him once the bell rang and they all filed out of their classroom and into the hallway.

Jughead stopped in the hall but only turned his head slightly.

“Hey…is everything okay?” She asked him as she touched his arm.

But he stepped away out of her grasp.

“Yeah…everything is fine.” He replied gruffly.

Veronica sighed.

“Well, I find that hard to believe seeing as how you are suddenly acting…”

Before she even finished her sentence, Jughead finished it for her.

“Like how I used to act? Like how it was before we became friends or whatever.”

Veronica nodded.

“Are we still friends?” She asked, sounding more hopeful than she would have liked.

But Jughead had become the only person she allowed herself to be completely vulnerable to, and she hated that she had inadvertently given him that power over her.

Jughead shrugged.

“Sure. To _some_ degree, I guess.” He replied with a smirk.

Veronica could feel her fingers trembling, her heart pounding. She hated his cavalier and cold attitude towards her. It pained her more than she ever thought it would.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?” She asked as she hugged her school books to her chest, as if she was trying to hold onto something to keep herself anchored.

Jughead finally looked at her then.

“I don’t know how to be friends with someone that can still be in love Archie Andrews. A guy who only gives you attention when it benefits him. A guy who only wants you because you’re a good piece of ass with a trust fund.”

Veronica felt as though the breath had been knocked out of her at Jughead’s words.

“Careful, Jughead, your jealousy is showing.” She seethed, not letting him see just how much his words had stung.

Jughead scoffed.

“Jealous? Jealous of _what_ exactly? Of Archie? Of the way he can just fuck you and walk away until he wants to fuck you again?”

Veronica could feel the heat in her cheeks rising. She was relieved to see that the halls had cleared and no one was around to hear Jughead’s accusations.

“How did you know what we were _doing_ , Jug? Were you _spying_ on us?”

It was Jughead’s turn to be caught off guard.

“No…I mean…I wasn’t _trying_ to listen, but it wasn’t like you were trying to be quiet either. Almost like you _wanted_ me to hear you two. Like you wanted me to hear _you_ specifically.” He retorted as his face grew as red as Veronica knew hers was.

She had never seen Jughead angry like this before. Sure, he’d been angry with her over many things over the years, but this was different. It was obvious that there was something more going on behind this tirade Jughead was on. She knew she would have to push to get whatever it was out of him.

She stepped towards him as he stepped back. And she didn’t stop until she had him backed up against a bank of lockers behind him. But the scowl on his face never left. He wouldn’t break that easily.

“Fucking perv. So what? Did you get off on hearing me fuck Archie? Did you wish it was _you_ and _me_ instead? I bet you did. I bet you wish you knew what it was like to have my body on top of yours. To know what I would _feel_ like. Wondering if I would feel better than Betty.” She purred as one hand rested on his chest, right over his rapidly beating heart.

“Well, get fucking real. Helping me with some math problems isn’t enough to get me to be with you, Beanie Boy.”

She turned to walk away, but Jughead’s voice suddenly stopped her.

“Then what _would_ it take, Veronica?”

His voice suddenly had an edge to it that she’d never heard before. A mix of carnal need and desire unmet. It gave her chills all over her body.

“Jughead…we’re with other people. We’re taken. That right there is reason enough to not go there.”

But Jughead shook his head.

“What if we _weren’t_ dating other people? What would it take?”

Veronica's heart slammed in her chest. And it wasn’t just from the way Jughead was looking at her, as if he wanted to find a dark corner of the school and do all the things to her that he was imagining. It was the seriousness in his tone, the complete desperation to know what it would take to be with her if he was free to.

“It would take something I don’t think you could give me.”

Jughead looked at her quizzically, waiting for the rest.

“It would take _trust_ , Jughead. Complete and total trust.”

\---

Jughead sat in Betty’s room, avoiding the bed by sitting on the chair in front of her vanity. He glanced at his phone while she paced the floor in front of him, going off on him about how shitty he’d been treating her lately by not communicating with her and not calling her back.

He knew he’d fucked up, but he was finding it hard to feel as bad about it as he should be feeling.

“Are you serious right now? You’re looking at your fucking phone while I’m _talking_ to you? This is serious, Jug!”

Jughead looked up at his incredibly angry girlfriend. Anger that he knew was completely justified.

“I’m sorry, Betts. I’m sorry for everything, I really am. I just…things have just been really tense lately. I mean, the Serpents are taking collections for some of the families struggling the most…and...I’m just trying to get my dad’s loser of an attorney to find some kind of loophole to get him out sooner…”

He went on and on, and he watched as the anger in Betty’s face began to melt into a look of compassion and understanding for her stressed out boyfriend.

But Jughead could never tell Betty what was troubling him the most. That he was falling for Veronica Lodge, her best friend, knowing full well that he wasn’t supposed to be. And knowing full well he was going to anyway.

It had happened way too easily. But he’d known from the first moment he’d ever met Veronica that she was the kind of girl that could absolutely destroy him. So he knew that the only line of defense he had was to never let her close.

But he had messed up. He _had_ let her get close. He had shared things with her that he hadn’t shared with anyone before. He had done things he never would have ever done before. And it wasn’t just because of this stupid job he had to do for her dad, it was because Veronica was the epitome of the type of girl he had always wanted. In every capacity. Faults and all. No matter how mad she made him, no matter how frustrated he got with her, he somehow thrived on it.

Jughead didn’t know what to do. Trying to get Veronica to want him as much as he was wanting her was no longer something he was getting paid to do. It was something he truly wanted. But if she was to ever find out about his deal with her dad, it would be over completely. She would never forgive him, and he would lose her before he had even been able to be with her.

He thought about just telling her the truth, telling her all of it. Because trust was what she desired most. But that would risk his dad having to go to trial and possibly losing. Jughead couldn’t take that risk. The Serpents needed FP back, and as soon as possible.

“I know you’re under a ton of stress, Jug. And I really _am_ trying to understand. I just feel like…I don’t know…that we’re losing our connection. I’m just afraid of what it might do to us if we don’t get it back.”

Jughead nodded, but he didn’t know what to say to reassure her.

He didn’t want to make any promises that he might not be able to keep.

\---

Veronica stood outside the door of her apartment, not wanting to go in. She tapped her foot on the marble floor, feeling a lot more on edge then she should.

She knew Jughead was on the other side of that door, working, and she had been doing her best to avoid him lately. After their last argument, she hadn’t wanted to talk to him about it. She hadn’t wanted him to try to convince her that she could trust him and he could trust her in return.

Because that would throw her whole world into even more upheaval than it was already in.

She thought about just walking back down to her car and going over to her mom’s condo. But her mom had invited over her friends for a girls night in and Veronica didn’t feel like being grilled by them about school, cheerleading, and especially Archie.

So she opened the apartment door as quietly as she could, slipping off her shoes and carrying them in her arms as she crept towards the hallway to her room.

“Veronica.”

Her heart jumped to her throat at the sound of Jughead’s voice behind her. She sighed as she hung her head and turned around to face him.

“Can we talk?” He asked as he ran a hand through his beanie-less hair.

Veronica scowled at him even though her heart was beating rapidly. The affect he was beginning to have on her wasn’t something she thought she would ever feel when it came to Jughead Jones. But this was her new reality. He had gotten to her. She was falling.

“Talk? I don’t know, Jug. The last time we talked, it didn’t go so well.”

Jughead sighed.

“I know. I’m sorry. I was a total jerk and I had no right to be. I just…I know it's...it's all because of how I'm feeling about you." 

He paused, as if he was gathering the courage to say whatever it was that he wanted to say next.

Veronica…there’s something happening between us. Do you feel it? I know _I_  feel it…but do _you_?”

Veronica sighed.

This was the exact conversation that she had been trying to avoid. And now she had a choice to make, to either lie or tell him the truth.

The truth was what she told him she wanted. She felt as though she had no other option than to practice what she preached.

“Yes.” She replied, her voice so quiet it was as if she was afraid the world on the other side of the walls would hear her.

“I feel it.”

Jughead took a cautious step towards her, and then another, until they were standing only inches apart.

His hand cupped her face as he gave her that intense look that she had seen a million times before, but this time there was something different. Sometimes deeper, carnal, desperate. She had suddenly forgotten how to breathe as his other hand slid behind her neck. He gazed at her lips before leaning in closer. And within seconds, his mouth was on hers.

She knew she should stop him. That she should pull away and run for her bedroom. But she couldn’t. She didn’t want to. Instead, she kissed him deeper, opening her mouth for him, feeling his velvet tongue against hers. She clung to him, her fingers digging hard into his arms for support. She didn’t know what would happen if she let go.

And then his hands were in her hair as he kissed her feverishly, furiously, unable to hold back the passion that was taking over. Veronica wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his, feeling the growing length in his jeans against her pelvis.

“Oh…” She sighed as his mouth moved to her neck. He felt incredible. Better than she could have ever imagined.

And she knew that nothing would ever be the same after this kiss. Everything had turned on its head and there was no going back.

“I want you…” Jughead murmured in her ear between kisses as his hand roamed under her short, plaid skirt.

"And, I _need_ you..."

Veronica’s eagerness at the prospect of making love to Jughead was evident when his hand pushed aside her panties to touch her.

“You want me too...don't you." He growled as he felt her, his touch unrelenting.

She melted at the way his hand worked her sensitive core as she nodded her head.

"I do. I want you, Jughead. I want you _now_."

But they were suddenly interrupted by a ringing cell phone.

“It’s my phone.” She panted breathlessly as she heard the specific ringtone of one specific person.

“And it’s Archie.”

 

To be continued...

 


	9. Chapter 9

Jughead sat at the Whyt Wyrm nursing a beer as Toni took a seat at the bar next to him.

“Uh oh, not only is he underage _drinking_ but he’s doing it on a weeknight!” She teased as she nudged his arm.

Jughead glared at her before going back to his wallowing.

“This is a pity party for _one_. So why don’t you leave me alone if you’re only going to bust my balls, Topaz.”

Toni shook her head.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. So what sort of tragedy has taken place to cause you to be sitting here so late, knocking back beers like you’ve been to a funeral? Did Betty break up with you or something?”

Jughead laughed sarcastically.

“Betty…fuck…I haven’t even thought about that whole catastrophe of a relationship yet. Hey Hog, I’ll take another.” Jughead called out to the bartender before downing the rest of the beer that remained in the thick, glass mug he’d been holding in his hand ever since he’d gotten to the bar an hour earlier.

“What the hell happened Jug?” Toni asked, concerned.

Jughead sighed.

“Well, Toni..."

He paused, letting the thought sink into his own mind before saying it out loud.

"I think I’m in love with Veronica Lodge.”

Toni groaned as she buried her head in her hands.

“Holy shit, Jug.”

Jughead didn’t say anything, only took a long swig of his fresh beer.

“That’s…wow...that’s…are you _sure_?” She asked, a look of complete disbelief on her face as she looked at him closely.

Jughead knew she wasn’t sure if he had lost his mind or not. But he _had_ lost his mind, and he’d lost his heart with it.

“I’m pretty fucking sure. And I’m pretty fucking sure I’m a idiot too.”

Toni took his beer out of his hands and took a long sip before handing it back to him.

“Okay, so…tell me what happened.”

Jughead proceeded to tell Toni all about how he’d been waiting for Veronica to show up at the apartment. Even though she was trying to avoid him, he knew she wouldn’t be able to do it for long.

She had tried to sneak past him, but the look on her face when she had turned around to face him had been all Jughead had needed to finally get up the nerve to ask her if she was feeling the way _he_ was feeling.

And she was.

When she had admitted it, Jughead could hardly believe what he was hearing. But he needed more. He needed to touch her, to feel her skin on his fingertips, to press his lips to hers.

And when he did, that was all it took.

Kissing Veronica could not compare to anything else he’d ever felt before. She was both heaven and hell, fire and ice, everything that could bring him endless joy and everything that could bring him gut wrenching pain. And he wanted all of it. He wanted all of her. He knew then that he had fallen in love with Veronica and there was nothing he could do about it.

But then her phone had rung, and it had been Archie. It was all Jughead could do to let Veronica leave his arms to answer it.

“He wants me to come over.” She’d said after hanging up the call.

“You’re going?” Jughead had asked, unable to hide the accusatory sound in his voice.

But he couldn’t understand how she could just kiss him and then walk away like nothing had happened, like they hadn’t just admitted that they were both feeling something for each other.

“He’s still my boyfriend, Jughead. If I don’t go, he’ll wonder why. I don’t know if I have the strength to lie to him right now.”

Jughead had left the Lodge apartment incensed and hurt as he slammed the door behind him, leaving Veronica nearly in tears at the extremely difficult place she now found herself in.

“Jug…you need to talk to her. Don’t make her feel like she’s done you wrong. Because now, not only is she torn between you and Archie, she also has to think about what this might do to her best friend. Don’t _you_ care about how Betty might feel about all of this?”

Jughead sighed.

“Of course I do, Toni. But things with Betty and I have been a fucking _mess_ for months now. I should just do us both a favor and break up with her. But that only solves part of the problem.”

\---

It was late at night when Veronica arrived back at her dad’s apartment, so done with all the drama in her life lately that she didn’t even care when Hiram told her she was grounded for coming home so late, and from Archie’s house no less.

She wished she hadn’t even gone to see Archie in the first place. Leaving Jughead had been hard. Too hard. But it was something she no longer had any control over. His kiss had been so good that she hadn’t been able to get it out of her mind, she still shook from it, even when she was with Archie.

And as she and Archie made love, she’d kept her eyes closed, wanting more than anything for it to be Jughead that she was with instead.

She had fallen in love with Jughead. She knew it without question. He challenged her like no one ever had. He angered her like no one else could. And he made her feel things she’d never felt.

She had never been so terrified but so anxious when she was with him. She never knew what to expect when he was around, and the excitement of that was the purest of addictions.

Why she was even still with Archie, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that being in love with her best friend’s boyfriend and her boyfriend’s best friend was the lowest thing she could think of. Veronica didn’t want to fight what she was feeling for Jughead, but she didn’t know what else to do. Because no matter what, two hearts were going to be broken. Either hers and Jughead’s or Archie and Betty’s.

Breaking her own heart was a sacrifice she could make. But the thought of breaking Jughead’s was agonizing.

No matter what she did, someone would get hurt and she wasn’t sure how much more pain and heartache she could bear from the people she loved most.

\---

“I’m really sorry, Betty. But I think we _both_ know that things haven’t been good between us for a while now. Maybe it’s time we take a step back from each other.”

Jughead had been dreading his unavoidable breakup with Betty Cooper all day long. But he couldn’t avoid her any longer. He had to tell her that no longer being together was the best option for the two of them.

It was time to move on.

Betty sighed as tears began to form in her bright, blue eyes.

“I know…and you’re right, Juggy. I guess I was just hoping…I was hoping that we could somehow work through everything. I love you _so_ much.”

It was Jughead’s turn to sigh.

“I love you too, Betts. I always will. You’re one of the most incredible people I’ve ever known. But…I…I’m not in love with you anymore. And something tells me that you’re not in love with _me_ anymore either.”

All of a sudden, Betty got an anxious look on her face at Jughead’s words.

“What do you mean something tells you that I’m not in love with you anymore? Did someone say something to you?”

Jughead gave her a confused look. Betty had gotten extremely jumpy and on edge out of nowhere as she fidgeted with her sweater while she sat on the couch of Jughead’s trailer.

“No, but…is there something _you_ need to tell me?” He asked, knowing her well enough to know she was keeping something from him. Something big.

But before she could even say a word, Betty began to sob. Jughead watched her from the chair he sat in across from her, not sure if he should comfort her or wait until he knew just why she was crying in the first place.

“Jughead…you’ve just been so _distant_ lately…and…I just…I didn’t really know what to do. I was lonely and…and Archie…he was there for me. So…”

She inhaled deeply before continuing.

“So…one night…the night of the snowstorm. He and I…we…we slept together.”

She looked at Jughead, her face wracked with guilt and tears. He wasn’t sure what to say, especially since he wasn’t that upset to begin with.

“You and Archie slept together?” He asked, trying to buy himself some time before telling her about his own betrayal.

Betty nodded as she wiped her wet cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater.

Jughead sat forward in his chair, running his hands through his hair.

“And…the worst part is…we’ve slept with each other a few times since.” She confessed before she broke into more sobs.

Betty’s admission about her cheating with Archie felt surreal as Jughead wrapped his mind around the new information. He never would have imagined Betty doing anything like that. She wasn’t the type of person to ever lie and sneak around. But it only proved how terrible of a boyfriend Jughead had been lately. He felt awful for what he’d put her through to the point where she’d had to run to the arms of someone else.

And then he thought about Veronica. She had no idea that Archie had been sleeping with Betty. But it explained so much of his behavior lately. It killed Jughead knowing that Veronica would eventually find out, and after already having to deal with so much chaos in her life as it was.

Jughead shook his head.

“Betty…it’s okay. I understand why things happened between you and Archie. I own my part in what led to that. I’m sorry for letting you down. I’m sorry things have turned out this way.”

Betty looked at him through teary eyes, confused as to why he was being so composed and understanding.

“You’re not mad?” She asked as she wiped the remainder of her tears from her cheeks.

Jughead took a deep breath.

“I’m not. I have no right to be, because…Betty…last night…I...I kissed Veronica. And, not only that…I felt something. I _feel_ something…for her.”

Jughead watched as Betty’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Oh my God…” She muttered as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

“That it explains so much. I knew it. I _knew_ that would happen. Damn it, Jug…that’s exactly why I didn’t want you taking that new position with Hiram. And now Veronica has done it again.”

Jughead looked at her confused.

“Done what again?”

Betty scowled.

“Schemed her way into taking what isn’t hers.”

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“That is ridiculous. Veronica did not scheme to take anything. It just happened, Betty. Don’t forget that you’ve been sleeping with Archie. And long before anything happened between me and Veronica.”

Betty shook her head.

“Well, all I know is that I don’t think I can forgive you, nor her, for this. You two deserve each other.” She said as she grabbed her purse and got up from the couch.

Jughead stood up and faced his now ex-girlfriend.

“Betty, you can’t always play the victim in every situation. Someday you’re going to have to own up to your own downfalls. I’m sorry that things didn’t work out between us, and I’m sorry things hadn’t been good in our relationship but I’m not the one who slept with someone else. _You_ are. So if anyone deserves to not be forgiven by me and Veronica, it's you and Archie.”

Betty stared at him, as if there was so much more she wanted to say to him. But ultimately, she turned away and left the trailer, slamming the door closed behind her.

Jughead collapsed back onto the armchair he’d been sitting in throughout the whole unpleasant ordeal. He didn’t care about how he felt when it came to finding out about Archie and Betty. He only cared about how Veronica would handle it.

He knew the news needed to come from Archie, himself, and no one else.

Jughead pulled his cell phone out of the pocket of his jeans to give his old friend a call. And he readied himself to be the person Veronica could lean on when her relationship came crashing down.

\---

“We think it’s best for all of us if we go through with ending our marriage.”

The words her father had said kept repeating in Veronica’s mind until she could hardly stand it anymore and she’d left the apartment. Regardless of having been grounded, she needed anything but to be at home.

She drove around the dark, snowy streets of Riverdale processing something she’d already known was likely inevitable but still unable to fully acknowledge that her parents were getting a divorce.

It was official. They had given up. Her mom and dad had accepted defeat when it came to their marriage and neither one were willing to try and make it work.

Veronica found herself heading towards Archie’s house, but suddenly switched direction. She knew Archie wasn’t the person who could be there for her the way she needed. He didn’t understand anything about what she was going through and she didn’t have the energy to give him a chance to try.

It had been a long time since she’d been to the trailer park where Jughead lived. But she somehow remembered her way there without any trouble.

Her heart thundered in her chest as she climbed the stairs to Jughead’s front door and knocked.

When he opened the door, she’d never been so happy to see someone’s face in her whole life. She suddenly felt the peace she had been looking for.

“Veronica. Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked as he ushered her in to the trailer.

Just the sound of concern in his voice was enough to evoke a fresh set of tears. Jughead immediately wrapped his arms around her.

“Shhh…it’s okay. Tell me what happened.” He murmured as he held her so close that she could feel his heartbeat against her cheek.

“They’re getting divorced.” She said quietly, not moving from his embrace.

“I’m so sorry, baby.” Jughead replied as he kissed her hair, keeping his lips against her as they stood together, saying nothing, but just holding each other.

“I have a bottle of cheap vodka. Want me to break it open?” He finally asked with a chuckle as he let her go to help her remove her coat.

Veronica smiled.

“Sounds perfect.”

\---

Jughead and Veronica sat on the couch in the dimly lit trailer with their glasses of vodka, mixed with some orange juice, in their hands. He couldn’t believe she was actually sitting there with him, and didn’t seem to care one bit about the less than five-star surroundings. He had underestimated Veronica Lodge way too much and for way too long. He hated the fact that so much time had been wasted by not giving her a chance sooner.

“Well...if it makes you feel any better, Betty and I broke up tonight. She’d just left right before you got here.” Jughead told her as he poured himself some more of the drink mixture, already starting to feel the effects of it.

“And…I told her about our kiss. I felt like I needed to be honest with her about what I’m feeling for you, Veronica.”

Veronica sighed.

“How much does she hate me now?” She asked with a defeated laugh before taking a long sip of her drink.

Jughead smiled.

“She’ll hate us _both_ for a while, but she’ll get over it. She agreed that things needed to end. She just needs time to understand that things just kind of happened between us.”

Veronica looked at him, a reticent expression on her beautiful face.

“So…I guess that means you’re free now.”

Jughead nodded.

“I am.” He replied with a crooked grin.

Veronica put down her drink glass before removing the glass from Jughead’s hand.

“So I guess that also means that I could kiss you right now and I wouldn’t be betraying my best friend…or… _former_ best friend.”

Jughead nodded, his pulse racing as Veronica climbed onto his lap, sitting astride him as she took his face in her hands.

“But _you’re_ not free yet.” He said as he gripped her waist, keeping her in place, not wanting her to move just because he’d stated the only other barrier in their way.

“ _Fuck_ …I don’t care right now. Right now, I just need to feel something else. Everything is falling apart around me, Jughead. But this…whatever this is between you and me… _this_ is what’s holding me together.”

She kissed him then, sealing her lips over his in a feverish moment that he hoped would never end.

His hands slid down to her bottom as he kissed her back, gliding his tongue along her lips in a silent request to kiss her deeper.  Veronica moaned into his mouth as his hands tugged at her silk panties.

She was like touching heaven itself, and he had no intention of ever letting her go.

But there was one thing she still didn’t know, and he’d have to tell her soon. He loved her and he didn’t want to keep any secrets from her. Even if the secret was one that could cause him to lose her forever.

 

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Veronica woke up in Jughead’s arms, laying in his bed, and she’d never felt so content before.

They were both still in their clothes from the night before, the vodka still on their breath, her head still a little woozy. She hadn’t been ready to sleep with him, at least, not until she broke up with Archie.

She wanted her first time with Jughead to have no drama and no unfinished business attached to it.

But waiting was difficult.

The night had been intense. Their mouths, their hands, their bodies had explored each other for hours until they’d both become so hot and desperate for each other, they’d decided that catching some sleep would be the best way to distract themselves from going any further.

They had fallen asleep whispering to each other, talking about things they never knew about the other. Jughead told Veronica all about why the Serpents meant so much to him while Veronica told him all about the good times she’d had growing up before her dad had made so much money. That things had seemed better when they hadn’t been so well off.

“It’s amazing to me that despite money, we both find our wealth in good memories with our families. I never would have expected that. I had you all wrong, Veronica, and I should have treated you better. I’m sorry.” Jughead had told her while they lay on his bed facing each other before falling asleep.

Veronica smiled at him as she traced his lips with her finger.

“Don’t get _too_ soft on me. All our fighting has actually helped me become a more well-rounded person. I’ve learned a lot from you, Jug…without you even knowing.”

Jughead chuckled.

“So you’re giving me permission to argue with you?”

Veronica nodded.

“It kinda turns me on, to be honest. Always has. I just never let you know it. You’re pretty sexy when you’re mad, you know.” She said as her hand wandered down to the bulging area of Jughead’s jeans.

Jughead had groaned softly.

“ _Damn_ baby…please go breakup with Archie as soon as possible because you saying that is not making waiting for you any easier.”

Veronica couldn’t help but agree with him as they both drifted off to sleep.

Waking up with Jughead gave her a feeling she never wanted to lose, but she couldn’t control the guilt she felt for what Betty might be feeling.

Veronica knew she would have to talk to Betty soon, that she would have to find some way to explain to Betty why and how she had fallen for Jughead. But it was something she could hardly explain to herself. She could only hope Betty would understand since she had once fallen for Jughead too.

Regardless of if Betty understood or not, something inexplainable had just clicked into place between Veronica and Jughead. Something that had always been there but they had both fought against with insults and arguments.

She knew Betty would blame her for stealing another guy she had loved. Veronica clearly remembered how upset Betty had been when she’d found out that Veronica and Archie had kissed in that closet while playing Spin the Bottle at Cheryl’s house.

But it was one of those things that Veronica and Archie had made a strong attempt to forget about. But ultimately, their attraction for each other could no longer be contained. They had both known it would hurt Betty, but they couldn’t deny how they had felt any longer.

Veronica remembered how relieved she’d been when Betty and Jughead had begun dating, though there had always been a feeling of envy that Veronica had felt deep down when it came to Betty’s relationship with Jughead.

She would hear their conversations, always talking about interesting books and films and art. Jughead would drone on and on even after Betty had tuned him out. But Veronica was always listening, always paying attention. She’d hear Jughead mention a book she hadn’t read, and something compelled Veronica to want to read it.

Jughead had never known just how much Veronica had admired him, had liked him. But he had always seemed annoyed by her, and she could only surmise that he had attitude about the fact that she had been given everything while he had virtually nothing.

She understood it, was sensitive to it, and never tried to rub it in his face, no matter what kind of fight they had gotten into on any particular day.

Using her wealth as a weapon was never on the table.

And then Jughead had gotten a chance to see the real her when he would be working at the apartment. It was rare for Veronica to be vulnerable outside the walls of her home. And even though it was in her nature to not let anyone see her weak or off her game, she didn't mind letting Jughead know who she really was.

And he seemed to care about knowing her. He had welcomed it. It had been so unusual to the point that she had secretly questioned his motives to herself.

But she didn’t question him anymore. She didn’t care. She loved him too much. And she wanted to tell him just how much, and show him just how much. But she knew she had to end it with Archie first.

“Good morning, Princess.” Jughead said softly in her ear as he held her tightly in his arms.

She loved his arms. She loved his body. And she’d gotten to see a lot of it the night before. The memory of it sent her heart racing.

“What are you in such deep thought about?” He asked as she intertwined her fingers with his.

“You.” She replied with a soft chuckle.

“And how surreal this whole thing is. Who would have thought I’d ever be lying in bed next to Jughead Jones?”

Jughead let out a quiet laugh.

“Not me, that’s for sure. Thank God for snowstorms. I’ll never forget watching you make me that peanut butter and jelly sandwich that night and wishing I could just do this…” He said as his hand slid up her thigh and under her skirt.

“Oh…Jug…” Veronica sighed as he began to touch her.

She had lost her panties somewhere during the night, giving Jughead easy access to her throbbing core.

His touch was everything, and she melted at the incredible way he worked her.

“You were so sexy without even trying to be. I couldn’t stop thinking about you when I was laying in that guest room.” He purred in her ear.

Veronica remembered that night perfectly. She remembered how tipsy she’d been, and how Jughead had looked at her. It was the first time she had ever seen him look at her like she was more than a spoiled, rich girl.

“Did you touch yourself while you were thinking about me?” She asked breathlessly as Jughead’s lips began to pepper kisses along her neck and behind her ear.

“Yes. Of course I did. I still do. You make me so _fucking_ hard, Veronica.” He groaned as he went deeper into her.

She was so incredibly turned on as she writhed wildly to the rhythm of his hand, whimpering softly until she came hard around his unrelenting fingers.

“Oh my God…” She whispered, not wanting to move an inch.

Jughead knew what he was doing, and it was an unbelievably wonderful surprise. She never would have imagined that he had it in him to be so passionate and bold.

“So…now that I’ve gotten you good and awake. Do you want me to make you some breakfast?” He asked with a chuckle.

Veronica smiled as she sat up from the bed.

“I would absolutely _love_ that. But, I don’t want to waste another second getting the breakup with Archie over with.”

They both reluctantly got up from the bed before Jughead walked her to the front door of the trailer.

“When you finish talking to Arch, meet me at Pop’s. We can deal with the fallout then.” He said before leaning down to kiss her tenderly on the lips.

Veronica sighed softly.

“Betty never told me what a good kisser you are.”

Jughead smiled.

“You think my _kissing_ is good…just wait.”

Veronica chuckled.

“I guess I better hurry up and get single. See you later, handsome.”

\---

Jughead fell backwards onto his bed after Veronica left, feeling an elation that he’d never thought he would feel when it came to Veronica Lodge. He was completely gone for her, and it still surprised him.

And he knew he would be anxiously waiting for her to call him to tell him she had broken things off with Archie for good. And his happiness at the thought had nothing to do with getting his father out of prison.

Jughead only hoped that Veronica would handle the news of Archie and Betty’s secret without getting as upset as she’d been about her parent’s divorce. He didn’t want her to have to go through any more drama, but he knew it was inevitable, to an extent.

Especially since Jughead knew that he still had to tell Veronica about the contract he had signed with her father.

He had tried all night to find a good time to tell her, but he’d been selfish instead. Wanting more than anything to hold her and kiss her and touch her. To see the way she looked at him, and the way she closed her eyes and bit her lip when he touched her. She drove him wild, and he couldn’t bring himself to tell her something that could completely turn her against him.

He knew it was wrong, but his fear of losing her had taken over.

Jughead got up to hit the shower before meeting up at Pop’s with Veronica later. He could hardly wait to see her again, and to see her as a free woman. A woman that could be his, if she didn’t end up hating him first.

As the steaming water hit Jughead’s back, he thought about his phone call with Archie the night before. Archie had been a ball of apologies for what he and Betty had been doing behind his back. But Jughead assured his friend that he understood.

“I’m a dick, Jug. What can I say? It was so completely wrong of me and Betty to do that to you and Veronica. We just weren’t thinking.”

Jughead sighed.

“Archie, don’t worry about _me_. But yeah, you need to talk to Veronica. You need to tell her. If you don’t, then I will.”

Archie hadn’t put up a fight about Jughead’s threat, which surprised him. And he realized that maybe Archie really did care about Veronica more than Jughead had originally thought.

“I’ll tell her, Jughead. I swear I will.”

Jughead hadn’t told Archie about what had been going on between him and Veronica. He knew Veronica would want to be the one to tell him herself. But there was the unrelenting guilt over how Jughead had betrayed his best friend by virtually stealing his girlfriend. And with absolute intent to do so.

The contract with Hiram would be something Archie would especially have a hard time forgiving. As much as he also disliked Veronica’s father with a passion, he had still wanted nothing more than to prove to Hiram Lodge that there was nothing he could do to get in the way of his relationship with his daughter.

But it hadn’t just taken Hiram Lodge to create the wedge needed to end the relationship, it had taken Jughead to hammer the final nail into the coffin of Archie and Veronica.

Hiram had played the game well. Jughead couldn’t deny that. He had known what he was doing, and he had known just how to use Jughead as a pawn. But as long as Hiram held up his end of the deal, Jughead had to take all the risks that were involved.

But it would have all been so much easier if he hadn’t fallen for Veronica in the process.

\---

“You and Betty have been sleeping together?”

The question sounded so strange coming out of Veronica’s mouth.

Archie nodded.

“I can’t even _begin_ to tell you how sorry I am.” He explained as he stood in front of her looking helpless.

“I love you so much, Ronnie. And I care about Betty a lot. But I don’t want to lose you. I _can’t_ lose you. Is there any part of you that thinks you could forgive me? Could you just give me another chance?”

Veronica couldn’t believe Archie would waste any of his breath asking her to reconsider breaking up. After what he had just told her, there was no way she would be able to look past how he had betrayed her. She was a Lodge, after all, and betrayal was the ultimate death of any relationship.

Besides, she no longer had any desire to be with Archie. Even standing there in the middle of his bedroom, where she had spent so many days and nights, where she had made love to him so many times; the only person on her mind at that moment was Jughead Jones.

“Does Jughead know about this?” She asked, concerned for how Jughead would feel if he knew Betty had been sneaking around behind his back with his best friend.

But Archie nodded.

“Yes. Betty told him when they broke up last night. He called me and told me that if I didn’t tell you, he would.”

Veronica felt a flutter in her heart. The whole night before Jughead had known about this huge secret Archie and Betty had been keeping, but he hadn’t told her. She understood that he was protecting her already fragile heart, and instead of it upsetting her that he hadn’t told her what he knew, she realized that it was just that sort of thing that made her love Jughead so much.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Archie asked, looking closely at her with a confused expression on his face.

Veronica sighed, not having realized how obvious she had been.

“Archie…there’s something you should know too. And it will explain why I can’t give you a second chance.”

Veronica proceeded to tell Archie all about how she and Jughead had been spending so much time together, that they had gotten to know each other in a whole other way.

“And he kissed me a couple of nights ago, and…I’m sorry, Arch, but there’s something there. And it’s something that Jughead and I just can’t walk away from.”

The look of surprise on Archie’s face was exactly what Veronica had expected.

Archie had always had an heir of superiority when it came to Jughead. He knew he was a better athlete than Jughead, that he was more popular and well-liked. He certainly never expected to lose a girl to Jughead.

But he had, and it clearly disturbed his sizeable ego.

“No wonder he seemed unusually calm last night on the phone.” Archie replied, realizing that Jughead’s indifferent attitude in regards to finding out about Betty cheating on him with Archie, was all because of his newfound feelings for Veronica.

“I’m going to punch his fucking lights out.” Archie seethed as his hands formed into fists.

Veronica shook her head.

“That will solve nothing, and you know it. It would be easier on all of us if we just try to accept everything that’s happened and move on.”

But Archie crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the floor of his bedroom as Veronica spoke.

“We’ve both hurt each other, and there was a reason for it. Now we both have the chance to find something that makes us happy. I’m happy when I’m with Jughead. I want you to find your _own_ happiness. If it’s with Betty, I accept that. But it can’t be with me. I’m sorry, Archie.”

Archie sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry, Ronnie. For everything. But I can’t forgive, Jughead. Not yet.”

Veronica nodded, understanding how Archie felt but regretting it nonetheless.

She gave Archie a hug goodbye, and another apology before leaving the house and texting Jughead.

_“It’s done. Meet me at Pop’s.”_

 

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

“I’m not surprised he’s pissed off at me.” Jughead said before taking a bite of his hamburger as he sat across from Veronica at Pop’s.

She had been recounting to him her conversation with Archie that morning when she’d gone to his house to take part in the unpleasant task of breaking up with him.

“Yeah, but, he was the one  _sleeping_  with your girlfriend. I think you win the right to be pissed off more than he does.” Veronica replied between sips of her double chocolate milkshake.

Jughead shrugged.

“He’s really just mad at the fact that he lost you to me.  _And_  that he lost the best sex of his life too.” He said with a taunting grin.

Veronica almost spit out her milkshake.

“Oh my God!  _What_?” She asked with a doubting laugh.

Jughead grinned deviously at her.

“He told me, and I quote, that you were ‘incredible in bed.’ So I think he’s going to be pissed off over that for a while. Especially when he knows  _I’ll_  be getting it. Hopefully…”

Veronica balled up a napkin and threw it at him teasingly.

“Hmmm, well you  _might_  get it. But Archie…ugh…a veces es un  _pendejo_.” She replied teasingly as she rolled her eyes.

“Oh yes, speak Spanish for me again, baby. It’s hot as hell.” Jughead replied with a wink.

He’d heard Veronica speak Spanish before, and it was usually when she was angry. He had never wanted to admit it to himself that he had always found it unbelievably sexy when she spoke her ancestral language.

Veronica shook her head.

“God,  _all_  you men are pigs.” She said, unable to hide her smile at Jughead’s teasing.

“I’m sorry. It’s hard not to be sometimes. Especially when you do things to me that no other woman ever has before.” He said as he gazed at her.

He took a deep breath, knowing he needed to do something he had been dying to do for weeks now.

“Can I take you out tonight, Veronica? Like, on a  _real_  date?” He asked anxiously as his heart pounded hard in his chest.

She made him nervous, no matter how much they’d experienced together or how close they had gotten. Jughead still felt like he could lose her at any moment, and not just because he had something pressing that he still had to tell her.

Jughead had decided that he wanted more than anything to take Veronica out somewhere nice, show her how much she truly meant to him. And then, he would tell her all about the deal he had made with Hiram.

He hoped and prayed that she would hear him out; that she would understand how important it had been for him to get his father out of prison. The Serpents were depending on him, and his dad was depending on him.

“Of course, Jug. I would love that.” She replied as she took his hand in hers.

“And then maybe afterwards we could go back to your place and I can show you  _exactly_  what Archie was talking about.”

She looked at him so seductively, Jughead could feel his body temperature rising as he took off his beanie and lay it on the table.

“And I won’t hold  _anything_  back.”

Jughead swallowed hard. She was making him crazy.

“Did you hold back with Archie?” He asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer but too curious to not ask the question.

But Veronica nodded as she smiled flirtatiously at him.

I did. But I won’t with you, because I  _know_  you can handle me.”

Jughead didn’t even have a response. Veronica had rendered him speechless, and Jughead was rarely ever speechless.

Veronica was a whole other world than what he had known of love and sex before. And as nervous as he was when it came to being with Veronica, he was equally as eager to know all there was to know about her in every way possible.

She was a magnificent, gorgeous, captivating creature. And he felt as though he had unlocked a mystery when he’d finally let himself see her as the incredible woman that she was.

The two sat and talked for a while longer, discussing what movie they should go see.

“I’ve probably seen it dozens of times, but I would love to go see  _A Streetcar Named Desire_  at the Bijou. They’re doing a reshowing of it for just this weekend.”

Jughead smiled warmly at her.

“I love that movie. And I’d love to see it with you.”

He watched as a blush of pink rose in Veronica’s cheeks. It was rare that he ever saw her blush, but knowing he was the one that had caused it gave him a much needed boost of confidence. He hadn’t told her that he loved her yet, and she hadn’t said it to him either. But he hoped he’d get a chance to tell her before the night was over. And that his words might be enough to keep her from hating him forever.

\---

Veronica stood in front of her bathroom mirror taking her time with her hair. She wanted to look as best she could for her date with Jughead.

Her date with Jughead.

She smiled to herself, still finding it hard to believe that she was going out with the one guy she would never have imagined she’d ever end up dating, let alone fall in love with.

It was something that she never could have foreseen, but she couldn’t be happier that it had happened.

Jughead was more incredible than she could have ever predicted, and now she understood just why Betty had been so crazy about him.

The guilt of knowing that she was a huge part of the reason why Betty and Jughead were no longer together had lessened tremendously after Archie had told Veronica all about how he’d been cheating with Betty for weeks.

Veronica had been upset by Archie’s confession, only because of the carelessness and dishonesty that were involved. She never would have thought that Archie and Betty would go behind her back in that way. She had always thought that they two of them had respected her more than that.

But that hadn’t been true, apparently. And now Veronica felt as though Betty had no cause for being mad at her for having feelings for Jughead. But Betty still hadn’t returned Veronica’s calls.

In all honest, Veronica was too happy to be mad at Archie or Betty, and she wanted to find a way for them to all be okay and move on from the drama.

Veronica went into her room and took the dress from her closet that she had just bought that afternoon, specifically for her date with Jughead.

She felt more like her old self than she had in a while as she slipped on the dark gray, knit dress that complimented Jughead’s ever present beanie perfectly. It was short, and tight, fitting her in all the right places. She felt an anxious thrill throughout her whole body as she put on her black stilettos. She had no idea what the night had instore for the two of them, but she couldn’t wait for it to end with her in Jughead’s bed, wrapped up in his arms.

She heard the doorbell ring as she finished putting on her silver hoop earrings, and rushed out to the foyer to answer it.

When she opened the door, she felt flutters in her stomach at how incredibly handsome Jughead looked in his slacks, dress shirt, and suspenders. He was so gorgeous that it was heart-wrenching.

“Whoa…” He said with a sharp intake of breath as he looked her over from top to bottom.

A smile spread over his face as his eyes met hers.

“Are you even real?”

Veronica chuckled.

“I think so, but I feel like I’ve been in a dream for a couple of days now.”

Jughead blushed, something he did next to never, and Veronica was proud of herself for having been the one to draw it out of him.

Suddenly a voice boomed loudly behind them.

“Jughead! Great to see you!” Hiram Lodge greeted as he walked over and shook Jughead’s hand.

“Mr. Lodge.” Jughead replied with a nod as he attempted, and failed, to pry his gaze from Veronica.

“I know you two have a big date planned, but can I borrow Jughead for a minute, my dear? It’s just some business. It shouldn’t take long.”

Veronica nodded.

“Sure, daddy.” She replied.

But before she let him follow her dad to his office, she took Jughead by the hand and pulled him to her.

Her lips met his for a slow, sensual kiss.

“Don’t take too long.” She said softly once she’d pulled away.

Jughead quickly kissed her back, clearly wishing he didn’t have to leave her side for a second.

“I won’t.”

\---

Jughead sat down in the leather wingback chair across from Hiram Lodge. He still loathed the man, but a little less than he had previously. But only after Veronica had told him so many things about her dad that were actually not so terrible after all.

“So, you held up your end of the bargain. My daughter and Archie have broken up. I’m just sorry you had to sacrifice yourself and your relationship with Betty in order for it to happen.” Hiram began as he pulled a folder out of a drawer in his colossal sized desk.

“It was no sacrifice. I feel very deeply for Veronica, Mr. Lodge.”

Hiram looked at Jughead closely, as if he wasn’t sure if he believed him or not.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that the two of you have formed some type of bond. But after your date tonight, you no longer have to keep up the charade. Earlier today, after Veronica told me about the breakup, I placed the call to have your father released. You’ll be able to pick him up from the state prison tomorrow morning.”

Jughead nodded as Hiram handed him a copy of the contract they had signed a few weeks earlier.

“Thank you, Mr. Lodge. But I have no intention of ending  _anything_. How I feel about your daughter is no charade. And it has nothing to do with our contract.”

Hiram raised an eyebrow at Jughead’s sudden defiant tone. He obviously hadn’t expected for Jughead to fall for his daughter any more than Jughead had.

Hiram’s subtle look of surprised turned into an eerie grin as he glared at Jughead.

“That may be. And I don’t blame you for having feelings for her. But, she’s too good for you, Mr. Jones. And I won’t have my precious princess slumming it with the likes of a Southside Serpent.”

Jughead could feel his hands forming into fists as Hiram spoke, but he knew the last thing he needed to do was lash out at the man who’d had the power to release his dad from prison, and the man who was the father of the girl he loved.

“Well, maybe we should let her make her  _own_  choices.” Jughead replied, doing his best to keep his cool and not let Hiram see just how incensed he really was.

Hiram nodded.

“Well, she won’t be allowed to live under my roof and date a Jones.”

Jughead glared at his boss, ready to say something he knew he shouldn’t, when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

“I won’t live under your roof any way.”

Hiram and Jughead both quickly turned their heads towards the doorway of the office to see Veronica standing there.

“Veronica…sweetie…I uh…I wasn’t aware you were listening.” Hiram said, nervously.

Jughead wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Hiram look so shaken before.

Veronica crossed her arms over her chest, looking as though she would break down in tears at any moment, but she held them back. And instead, a look of absolute fury covered her face.

“Well, you left the door open,  _daddy_. And I was wondering what was taking so long. And then I overhear that you and Jughead had some kind of deal to break up me and Archie?”

She turned to look at Jughead then, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. The anger on her face receding into sorrow just enough to break Jughead’s heart.

“So all of this was just to get your dad out of prison? It was all a fucking scheme?”

Jughead stood up from his seat and crossed the room over to her. He attempted to take her into his arms, but she stepped back away from him.

“Veronica…oh  _fuck_ …I don’t know how to even begin to explain. Yes, it started out that way. I needed my dad back. The Serpents needed him back. We were hardly able to keep some of the families sustained with my dad not being around to be able to help find jobs for our members.”

Jughead took a deep breath before continuing.

“Your dad wanted your relationship with Archie to be over. He asked me to do whatever means necessary to make it happen and he’d get the charges against my dad dropped so he wouldn’t have to go to trial. I tried everything I could think of to get the breakup to happen naturally, but nothing was working. So…I…I decided that I would just try to see if I could get you to like me. But I didn’t think it would work.”

Veronica looked at him with such regret on her face that Jughead could feel his heart continuing to break piece by piece inside his chest.

“But then…something happened. I started to fall for you, Veronica. I fell in love with you.  And now…I’m  _completely_  in love with you.”

Veronica looked down at the marble floor beneath her feet as a tear rolled down her perfect cheek. She wiped it away before looking back up at Jughead, a look of total defeat on her face. Jughead felt as though that look alone could actually kill him. Causing Veronica any kind of pain was the worst thing he’d ever felt in his whole entire life.

“How can I possibly believe  _anything_  you say when  _everything_  between us is based on a lie, Jughead? During the snowstorm...all those other times we spent together…you were just doing a  _job_? How the hell do you expect me to just look past all of that and believe that you’re in love with me now? How do I know you're not just trying to cover your ass? Like telling me you love me is going to make me less hurt? How fucking  _dare_  you.”

Jughead sighed, feeling as if he would unleash his own set of tears at how much he had hurt the woman standing before him.

“If you…if you could just  _trust_  me. I mean  _every_  single word that I’m saying.  _Everything_  we experienced was real. It was really me. I wasn’t pretending. Not once. I even broke up with Betty because of how I feel about you. This isn’t a scam, Veronica. It’s  _real_. Please believe that.”

But Veronica shook her head as she looked at him, raw pain in her eyes.

“I  _can’t_  trust you, Jughead Jones. And I never should have in the first place.”

She turned and walked hurriedly out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Jughead started to go after her when he heard Hiram clearing his throat behind him. He’d nearly forgotten that Veronica’s father had been witnessing the whole thing.

“Well, that  _is_  a shame, Jughead. I suppose I shouldn’t have left the door open during our conversation. I know how much Veronica likes to spy.”

Jughead turned to face the man who held way too much power over Jughead’s life than he was comfortable with.

“You  _let_  that happen. You didn’t even  _try_  to explain anything to her.” Jughead seethed, his jaw clenched as he glowered at Hiram Lodge.

But Hiram only smiled that menacing smile.

“Let’s put it this way, son. You did a favor for me and I did a favor in return. And that’s as far as this goes. Forget about Veronica. She’ll  _never_  forgive you.”

Jughead didn’t even have anything to respond with. He was too angry. But as he stormed out of the Lodge apartment, he vowed that he would get even with Hiram Lodge someday, no matter how long it took.

In the meantime, he would stop at nothing to win Veronica’s heart. He would not give her up without a full on fight.

\---

Veronica lay on her bed in her room at her mom’s condo. It didn’t feel like her room, but she realized she just needed to fill up the space with more of her own personal things in order to make it feel more like home.

After all, her mom’s home was now  _her_  home. There was no way she was going to go back to that apartment to live with her dad. Not after all he had done lately to ruin her life.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to forgive him for what he’d done.

Forget the fact that her dad had kicked her mom out of the apartment, and had filed for divorce from her. Forget that he had never liked Archie to the point where he’d hired Jughead to find a way to end her relationship with him. What really killed her was that she had actually believed that Jughead liked her, cared about her, maybe even wanted to be with her for real.

She felt like the biggest fool in the world. And what was worse, she was still in love with Jughead. Or at least, still in love with the person she thought he was.

But now she wasn’t so sure who he was at all.

She knew the stuff that she had always known about him had been real. But it was the personal stuff, the private things he’d told her, those were the things that she now questioned.

Had it been true when he'd told her that he missed his mom and sister so much that he found himself waking up in the middle night in tears? Was it true when he'd said that his dad used to take him fishing when he was little, and always pretended that whatever Jughead caught was a record breaking size? Did he mean it when he told Veronica that he was mesmerized by her when he watched her during her Rivervixen practice?

There were so many things he had said, and now she wondered if any of it had meant anything. She wondered if  _she_  had meant anything.

It was the most heartbreaking feeling she’d ever felt in her whole life. Even more than finding out that her parents were getting divorced.

She rolled over in her bed, feeling a comfort in the darkness that allowed her to let a fresh set of tears slide down her cheeks and onto her purple satin pillowcase.

Every man in her life had hurt her in the past week. She wasn’t sure things could get any worse. The only choice she had now was to become even stronger than she’d ever been before.

She would never let herself be fooled by Jughead, or any other man, ever again. She would pick up the pieces and move on.

And she would never allow Jughead to ever see how hurt she was.

 

To be continued...

 


	12. Chapter 12

“My boy!” FP called out as he approached the gate outside of the prison where he’d been held for the past few months.

Jughead smiled as he embraced his dad for an emotional hug. There was a relief that he suddenly felt that he hadn’t felt since the day his dad was arrested. It was good to have him back, and now the difficult times that Serpents had been having could finally be ratified.

“Good to see you dad. I missed you.”

FP kept an arm around his son's shoulder as the two walked over to FP’s old pickup truck that Jughead had come to pick him up in.

“I missed you too, Juggy. Now let’s go get a couple of milkshakes from Pop’s and celebrate!”

Jughead let his dad take the passenger seat while he drove the two of them to the diner. It wasn’t long after they had arrived, and were sitting down to eat, that FP noticed that something was off.

“So...I’m still confused as to how the charges got dropped so easily, and why you look so glum while not eating your food. Since when does Jughead Jones _not_ eat a Pop’s burger? Care to clue me in?”

Jughead shrugged as he sat back in his usual booth at Pop’s. He had absolutely no appetite, and he hadn’t had one ever since the night before when Veronica had walked away from him.

“It’s a long story, dad.” Jughead said with a sigh, not wanting to explain the whole sordid tale.

He knew his dad would be disappointed in him for making a deal with Hiram, no matter what the stakes had been.

FP scoffed.

“Hey, there’s obviously something big you haven’t told me. So, lay it on me.”

Jughead sat up and looked at his father apprehensively before he began to disclose everything that had happened over the past month.

FP listened intently, saying nothing as he let Jughead explain everything. When he got to the part about Veronica finding out about the deal with Hiram, FP shook his head and sighed.

“Damn it, Jug. You fell in love with a Lodge?”

Jughead nodded.

“I didn’t meant to, dad. But…Veronica….she’s just…she’s _different_. She’s...she's _remarkable_. Even though she hates my guts now, I don’t regret any of it. The only thing I regret is what an asshole her dad is. I should have found some loophole to use to get you out of prison without selling my soul to him.”

FP grinned sympathetically at his son.

“I understand, son. I just hate that you felt like you had to do all of that just to get me out of the clink. I know the Serpents were having a rough time with me being gone, but that didn’t have to fall all on _your_ shoulders. You shouldn’t have had to sacrifice yourself that way.”

But Jughead shook his head.

“But dad, the sacrifice was worth it. Because it got you out of prison. And…I found a connection with someone...with Veronica...that has come to mean _everything_ to me.”

Jughead sighed as Veronica’s face flashed in his mind. He thought about how she had he looked at him the night she’d come to the trailer after finding out about her parents. It was a look of relief, and of peace, and something else that he couldn’t quite explain. But it was _that_ look that kept him from being able to give up on the hope that he would have her in his arms again.

“And I’m going to get her back. I have too. I can’t let Veronica go without a fight. I’ve never been in love like this before, dad.”

FP nodded as he listened to his son profess his determination.

“You do whatever you need to do, Jug. I’ll have your back no matter what.”

\---

Veronica sat at lunch with Kevin, Cheryl and Josie and tried her best to avoid letting her gaze wander over to where Jughead sat alone, typing away on his laptop. She could feel his eyes on her every so often and it was all she could do to not look back at him. But she was desperate to make him think she didn't care.

It was incredibly hard to believe how much she missed him. She, Archie, Betty, and Jughead had been sitting together at lunch for years. But now they were all split up, and the tension was obvious.

“So, you guys all broke up, huh? What _exactly_ happened?” Kevin asked curiously, the gossip in him dying to know every detail.

Veronica shrugged.

“It’s a long story, Kev. And I’m not really in the mood to rehash it.” Veronica replied as she picked at her salad.

Suddenly, she could feel someone standing behind her. She flashed her eyes over at Jughead as he still sat in his chair. He had a look of surprise on his face as his eyes caught Veronica’s.

“Hey there, Bettikins! Want to join us?” Cheryl asked with a chuckle.

Veronica turned her head to see Betty standing there.

“No right now, Cheryl. V, can we talk?”

Veronica said nothing, only nodded as she stood up and followed Betty into the hallway outside of the lunchroom.

Betty fidgeted with her hands as she looked up at Veronica nervously.

“Veronica, I just…I wanted to apologize to you about me and Archie. Initially, I had blamed you…but…Jughead made me see where I was wrong. He was right when he told me that I can’t always be the victim, that I have to own my part in things. And I own my part in this. I should have never slept with Archie, much less do it and then not tell you. I just hope you forgive me someday. I really do feel terrible about all of this.”

Veronica could hardly believe what she was hearing. Betty was actually apologizing to her. It was something Betty rarely ever did, even if she was in the wrong about any particular issue that she didn’t want to admit being wrong about.

Veronica had been prepared to deal with Betty’s occasional glare and cold shoulder, but apparently, that wasn’t going to be the case.

She sighed as she smiled at her best friend.

“Betty, I forgive you. It’s okay. And thank you for your apology. I appreciate it _so_ much. I really need a friend right now. Especially my _best_ friend.”

Betty looked at Veronica with a puzzled expression on her face.

“But...I thought that you and Jughead were like a thing now.”

Veronica shook her head before telling Betty the whole story about how she had found out about her dad and Jughead’s deal.

Betty sighed once Veronica was done with the whole, heartrending ordeal.

“V, I know that what Jughead did was wrong by not telling you about the contract, and by even making that kind of deal with your dad in the first place. But…if he told you he’s in love with you, then he meant it. Jughead _never_ says things he doesn’t mean when it comes to something like that. It’s not easy for him to say those words in the first place.”

Veronica shrugged.

“Even if he _does_ really love me, I feel like I don’t even know him. I feel like everything he told me and how he acted with me, that none of it was real. I don’t know what was the truth and what was a lie.”

Betty thought for a minute.

“Okay, tell me something he said or did and I’ll tell you if I think it was real or fake.”

Veronica couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I can’t believe you’re standing here trying to help fix things between me and your ex-boyfriend.”

Betty shrugged.

“Hey, I’m not going to say it doesn’t hurt a little, but I care more about seeing you and Jug happy. Besides, I have a date with Kevin's cousin later.”

Veronica smiled warmly at Betty, happy to see that she seemed relatively fine after all the drama. She only wished she felt just as good as Betty seemed to feel.

“Okay, so he told me that he once stayed up all night watching as many Tarantino movies as he could and the next day fell asleep on the gymnasium floor doing sit-ups during gym class while everyone played basketball around him.”

Betty laughed out loud.

“Yes! That happened! He still laughs so hard at that.”

Veronica sighed, remembering how Jugehad had laughed so hard while telling the story that he'd gotten the hiccups. It had been incredibly endearing.

“Okay, well…getting a little more personal…he gets really confident while kissing. Like he knows he’s good. Is the confidence real?”

Betty blushed as she nodded.

“Yes, the confidence is real. He knows how good he is at _all_ of that.”

Veronica’s heart fluttered and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

“I know this is a weird thing to talk about, but…did you sleep with him, V?”

Veronica shook her head no. Regretting it tremendously. She had been so ready to make love to Jughead the night of their date, to tell him how she felt about him. But it hadn’t happened, and she still wanted to cry every time she thought about it.

“Oh V…you need to go to him and tell him that you forgive him. If you don’t…well…you’re missing out on the most incredible experience of your life. Being with Jughead is…amazing. I’ll miss him…but our time has passed. It’s your time now. Take it.”

Veronica wasn’t sure she could heed Betty’s advice. She had been hurt by Archie, her dad, and Jughead all in the same day. She didn’t know if she could endure the possibility of any more hurt from a man she loved.

“I’ll…I'll have to think about it.”

Betty nodded understandingly.

“I understand. But don’t take too long. Don’t lose him.”

\---

Jughead stood in the hallway outside of Veronica’s history class waiting for the bell to ring so he could catch her.

She had been avoiding him all week and it was destroying him with each passing moment.

Finally, the bell rang as classroom doors flung open and students began to fill the hallways. Jughead waited impatiently for Veronica, and when she finally exited her classroom, his heart slammed inside his chest. He was determined to get her to talk to him.

“Veronica.”

She looked up, surprise on her face. She hadn’t expected to see him standing there.

“Hello, Jughead.” She said stoically as she switched her look of surprise to one of indifference.

He had noticed how ambivalent she had seemed, and he knew it wasn’t real, no matter how hard she tried to seem like she didn’t care. He knew her well enough now to know what she was really feeling. She couldn’t hide from him. His heart knew hers.

“Please talk to me.” He said as he walked close behind her, so close that he could smell the combination of her shampoo and perfume, a smell he had grown to know so well and loved.

Veronica turned to look at him, but before she could say anything, they were suddenly interrupted by the booming voice of Reggie Mantle.

“So I’ll pick you up at 7, Veronica.” He said as he gave her a wink.

Veronica looked up at the loud and obnoxious football jock that had always been a thorn in Jughead’s side.

“Yep! See you then, Reg.” She replied with a flirtatious smile.

She looked back at Jughead after Reggie had walked by, and even though she tried to hide it, Jughead could see the guilt in her eyes at having made a date with Jughead’s arch nemesis.

“Seriously? You’re going out with Reggie? Wow, Veronica...that…that _really_ fucking hurts.” He said as his heart broke for what felt like the millionth time that week.

“He might not be the greatest guy, but he didn’t ask me out because of some deal with my dad.” She said sarcastic grin.

Her words were like a punch to his gut.

“You can try to hurt me all you want, Princess Lodge, but I still love you. I still want you, and I’m not giving up on you.” He said with a smirk as he backed her up against the lockers behind them.

“Leave me alone, Jughead.” She said weakly, as if she didn’t trust her own words.

She turned her head to look away from him, but Jughead leaned against the lockers, trapping her between his arms. He closed in on her even more to the point that his lips brushed against her cheek before drifting over to her ear.

“You know Mantle won’t even _compare_ to me. Why are you wasting your time? You’re _my_ girl, not his.” He murmured softly.

But Veronica suddenly pushed him away from her with a huff.

“ _He’s_ not wasting my time. _You_ are. Get it through to your head that I am _not_ your girl. I’m not _anyone’s_ girl.”

She glared at him before storming down the hall. But Jughead wasn’t fooled. She wasn’t over him, and he knew it. And it was enough to keep him going. He wouldn’t give up. Not until he had her total forgiveness.

\---

Veronica walked in front of Reggie as they made their way up the steps and through the doors of Pop’s. She could feel his eyes on her ass and it gave her chills. And not the good kind of chills that she got when Jughead was checking her out like that.

As much as she had wanted to cancel her Saturday night date with the school's biggest jerk, she didn't. Now she was regretting her decision tremendously.

“Booth or the counter?” Reggie asked her as they hovered near the entrance before deciding where to sit.

“A booth is fine with me.” Veronica replied, giving her best fake smile.

Reggie gave her his signature nod and wink as he put his hand on the small of her back and guided her towards the booth that she’d often found him sitting in whenever he was hanging out in Pop’s with the other football jocks or whatever girl he’d convinced to go out with him on any particular weekend.

What she hadn’t realized, until they’d sat down, was that a few booths down from where she and Reggie were now seated, Jughead was sitting with his laptop open and a scowl on his face as he watched her intently.

He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest as if he couldn’t believe she’d dared to come onto _his_ turf with _her_ date.

She looked back at him, doing her best to not seem as shaken as she felt. She had been hoping and praying that Jughead wouldn’t be at Pop’s when Reggie had told her that he wanted to take her there for dinner before going to see a movie.

Jughead shook his head as they continued to lock eyes. He looked at her as if he was a disappointed parent ready to scold the insolent child before standing up and heading towards her and Reggie.

“Veronica, I need to speak with you.” Jughead said once he’d reached their table.

He looked at her with that intense gaze that always made her feel a crushing weakness throughout her whole body.

“Beat it, Serpent Scum.” Reggie spat as he looked up, clearly as annoyed with Jughead as Jughead was with him.

“Mind your own fucking business, Meathead.” Jughead seethed, not taking his eyes off of Veronica.

“Do you want a fucking knuckle sandwich, Beanie baby?” Reggie asked as he started to get up.

But Veronica put up her hands.

“Gentlemen…please. Reggie, just give me a few minutes to see what the hell is so important that Mr. Jones felt the need to interrupt our date.”

Reggie nodded.

“Hurry back, sweetheart.”

Veronica could feel herself internally cringe at the pet name as she followed Jughead through the front door and outside to the parking lot of the diner.

Jughead turned to face her, a look of pure torment covering his handsome face.

“ _Really_ , Veronica? You brought your date to Pop’s?” Jughead asked as he pushed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, causing his leather jacket to open up, revealing the white tanktop he wore underneath.

Her heart fluttered wildly at the sight of him. She hated how hot he made her, especially when he was angry.

“No. My date brought _me_ here. I just went along with it. I didn’t know _you’d_ be lurking around.”

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“Like hell you didn’t.” He replied, clearly frustrated with being forced to see her out with another guy. Especially Reggie.

“I _didn’t_. And why does it matter anyway? I’m single. I can date whoever I want. Especially guys who don’t lie to me.”

She could feel herself shaking, and she did everything she could to not let herself cry. She was tired of crying over him.

Jughead stared at her as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Are you actually serious right now? It _matters_ because I love you and you _know_ I do. You can punish me all you want, and you’re doing a great job of it. But you’re tearing my _heart_ out, Veronica. I will forever be sorry I lied to you. I shouldn’t have. And I’ll never be able to apologize enough. But… _damn_ it…have some mercy on me, please! I can’t handle you being with that fucking asshole in there. I can’t _stand_ the thought of him touching you, kissing you, and…”

His voice cracked, and Veronica knew she had pushed him too far. She watched in disbelief as Jughead’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Fuck…I…I gotta go.” He turned around quickly and headed for his motorcycle.

Veronica didn’t move an inch. She didn’t know what to do. She wanted to run after him, but she couldn’t make herself pick up her feet. And that’s when she realized that she had done the one thing that she had never let herself do before.

She had let fear take over.

She was afraid if she went after him, if she let him get close for a second time, that she would just get hurt again. Maybe even worse than she had before. It was a risk she was afraid to take. Afraid. How often had she ever let herself feel that way? She was a Lodge and fear was something she had been taught to laugh at.

But she couldn’t laugh this time. Because now, it wasn’t just the fear of being hurt. It was now the fear that she had just lost the best thing she’d ever had.

 

To be continued...

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

“You should go find him, Ronnie, and forgive him. It’s not often someone comes along that loves you that much and refuses to give up.”

Veronica listened as her mom sat on the corner of her bed early the next morning.

She had woken herself up, yelling in her sleep, her heart pounding frantically. And Hermione Lodge had come running into Veronica’s room to see what was going on.

Veronica had been having a nightmare unlike any she'd ever had before.

She had been walking through a dark tunnel, hardly able to see anything. She kept trying to get to something, it was the sound of a drum, like a heart beating. Every time she thought she was getting close to the beat, it would disappear. The sound would start quietly again, but she could never reach where it was coming from.

She’d felt trapped, and scared, so afraid, with only a small shred of hope to keep her going towards that sound. Every so often, she would want to give up and turn around. She would try, but she would get stuck, unable to move.

It didn’t take much for her to interpret what the dream might have meant. The sound was Jughead’s heart, and she was trying to reach it, but the fear was stronger than the hope so she would try to leave it, but then she was compelled to turn back around. She wanted to get to that drum beat but she was afraid. And she realized she would never reach his heart if she didn’t give up the fear.

She sighed at the realization that denying Jughead was hopeless. She would never be able to stop loving him, and she didn’t want to. And she didn’t want him to give up on her. She didn’t want to give up on him either.

“I know I don’t say this often, but…you’re right, mom. I’ve been afraid, and being afraid isn’t like me.”

Hermione smiled at her daughter.

“Things have been really tough for you, honey. I’m aware of that, and so is your father. You deserve something that makes you happy. Give Jughead another chance to be the one to do that. That’s what he deserves after all _he’s_ been through too.”

Veronica nodded. Everything her mother had said made total sense.

She knew what she had to do. She just hoped it wasn’t too late.

\---

Jughead woke up with an insane hangover.

His head was pounding with the worst headache he'd ever had, and his mouth felt sticky and dry as he looked down and noticed he was still fully dressed, shoes and all, on the couch of his trailer. How he’d made it home from the Whyt Wyrm, he could only imagine.

“Sleep well?”

Jughead looked up, grimacing at how bad his head hurt, as his dad stood over him, a smirk on his face.

“You look rough, son. How much did you drink last night?”

Jughead ran his hands over his face.

“Fuck if I know. I don’t remember how I even _got_ here, let alone how many beers I pounded.”

FP clicked his tongue.

“Not a good look for you, Jug. I won’t tolerate having a drunk for a son. Especially an underage son.”

“Beat it, old man. I’m nursing a broken heart and soul.”Jughead replied somberly.

FP chuckled.

“Ah! There’s the brooding boy I know! How about I treat you to some pancakes and lots of Blossom maple syrup? Maybe some eggs over-easy? All runny and gooey?”

Suddenly Jughead’s usual bottomless pit of a stomach began to roll with waves of nausea. He jumped up from the couch and ran to the bathroom with the sounds of his dad’s laughter behind him.

He made it to the toilet just in time to vomit everything he’d had the night before. He hated how irresponsible he’d been, and he didn’t blame his dad for busting his balls about it. But he had left Pop’s with one thing in mind, and that was to get as drunk as he could in order to get Veronica Lodge out of his mind.

But it hadn’t lasted long. She had come flooding back into his thoughts as soon as he’d woken up.

“Whoa…you look terrible. And you _smell_ terrible too.”

Jughead looked up to see Toni standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

“If you came here to give me more shit, don’t even bother. My dad already reamed me. And I feel like hell.”

Toni chuckled.

“You should. You could have drank the devil himself under the table with how much you were knocking back last night. But no, I came here to give you your phone. I confiscated it last night so you wouldn’t do any senseless drunk dialing to a certain raven-haired princess.”

Jugehad had never been more grateful in his whole life as he took his phone from Toni’s outstretched hand.

“Your battery died, though, so you might want to charge it later after you get done puking your guts out.”

Jughead wanted to laugh, but he felt too sick to even muster a snicker.

“What am I going to do?” He moaned as he ran his hands through his hair.

Toni smiled warmly.

“Do something that is truly in the style of Jughead Jones. No more booze, no more stalking Veronica around town, no more sulking at the Wyrm. Start thinking of a grand gesture that comes from _your_ heart in order to win _her_ heart.”

Jughead knew she was right, and he suddenly had an idea.

\---

Veronica had wanted desperately to see Jughead, to talk to him. So she sat at Pop’s drinking water and coffee for hours, waiting to see if he would show up.

She had tried texting him earlier that morning but he hadn’t replied. And she was starting to get worried that she really _had_ lost him for good. That she had pushed him too far.

It was getting later in the day, and he hadn’t shown up at all yet. There was only one other place she could think to try and find him.

She got in her car and headed towards the Sunnyside trailer park.

As she drove, she could feel herself getting more and more nervous, and afraid. She had the overwhelming urge to turn around and just go back home.

But she remembered her dream, and what she’d learned from it. She would never have Jughead’s heart if she didn’t fight the fears in her heart when it came to how she felt about being with him.

Finally, she pulled up to the trailer, climbing the steps carefully before knocking on the door.

She thought about the last time she had been there. The last time she had come knocking. She had been so upset, and the only person she wanted comfort from, who she knew could give her what she needed when she needed it, was Jughead.

And he had been there for her. Had understood her. He’d let her cry in his arms and he’d let her vent about every feeling she had. He had listened, he hadn’t tried to fix anything, and it had meant everything to her.

She felt a peace fill her again, just like the peace she’d felt that night when she saw his face looking at her with so much concern and compassion. She wouldn’t be controlled by her fear any longer.

When the door swung open, she was greeted by Jughead’s dad, FP Jones.

“Veronica Lodge…what a surprise!”

Veronica smiled warmly.

“Hey, Mr. Jones. It’s good to see you again. How's life treating you on the outside?”

FP chuckled as he stepped aside to let Veronica inside the small trailer.

“It’s been really great. Getting things back on track with the Serpents, and just trying to be there for Jug. I’m sorry that the two of you have been having some issues. I’m disappointed that Jughead put himself on the line just to get me out of prison.”

Veronica nodded.

“I’ve been incredibly hard on him over it, Mr. Jones. I owe him a huge apology. Is he here? I didn’t see his motorcycle out front.”

Jughead’s dad shook his head.

“He was around this morning but he’s been gone all afternoon. I’m not sure where he took off to but he said he had a lot of work to do.”

Veronica sighed.

“Well…if you hear from him…or see him…can you tell him that I really need to talk to him? I have something that I need to say.”

FP smiled, nodding.

“Absolutely, Veronica. You know, I should tell you…my son doesn’t always make the best decisions, but his heart never has _anything_ but good intentions. I hope you always remember that, no matter what happens between the two of you.”

Veronica nodded.

“Thank you, Mr. Jones.”

Veronica got back in her car and headed home. She sighed thinking about what Jughead’s dad had said to her before she’d left.

He was right. Jughead only ever had good intentions. That’s why he’d made a deal with her dad in the first place. Jughead had wanted, and needed, his dad to be out of prison. And when Veronica actually saw FP and spoke to him, when she saw how much more like a home the trailer felt when she’d been inside knowing that Jughead had someone there to look after him, it warmed her heart.

She was over being mad at him. She was over torturing them both unnecessarily. She’d been through a lot, but she knew that Jughead would never try to ever hurt her. So she was ready to do whatever necessary to let him know that she was letting it all go. She was more than ready and willing to start over.

\---

Jughead woke up Monday morning, his back aching. He’d fallen asleep in the Blue and Gold offices after working all night on writing, editing, and printing the latest edition of the school paper. He had to get it out among the masses as soon as his classmates filled the halls of Riverdale High that morning.

“Wow, you’re here early!” He heard Betty chirp as she walked into the main office, her eyes immediately falling on the stacks of school papers next to the printer.

“Is that the latest issue?”

Jughead nodded, gulping nervously.

“Uh…yeah…I had a last minute addition that I wanted to put in. I worked on it all day yesterday.”

Betty looked at him curiously.

“What is it? Can I read it?”

Jughead handed her a copy, hoping she didn’t object and deny him being able to distribute it to their fellow classmates. This was vitally important to him.

What he had done was exactly what Toni had encouraged him to do. It was something to show Veronica how much she meant to him, something that purely came from him, and something that he prayed would speak to Veronica’s heart.

Betty was the only possible roadblock in his way.

He watched her closely as she read, her eyes running over the paper so quick, he almost didn’t believe she had actually read it until she looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

“Jug…this is… _lovely_.”

Jughead breathed a sigh of relief. But he still felt uneasy, hoping Betty’s tears weren’t because she was hurt by how blatant he’d been about his feelings for her best friend in a story that the whole school was about to read.

“Really?” He asked, hoping desperately that she was being sincere.

Betty nodded energetically.

“Yes! And if this doesn’t get Veronica talking to you again, then fucking hell...she’s nuts!”

Jughead smiled as he gazed at the paper in his hand that he had worked on for so long to make perfect. He had even accompanied the article with one of the pictures he had taken of Veronica the day after the snowstorm.

They had been sitting by the fireplace, drinking their mugs of hot chocolate. Her cheeks were still rosy from the cold, she had been wearing a knit cap not unlike his own. It had been the moment that everything had changed. His heart had changed. She had unlocked something inside of him and that had unleashed the beginning of everything between them.

“Juggy, I know it’s weird to be talking about this, but…I really _do_ want you to be happy. I want Veronica to be happy too. If that means the two of you being together, then I support it. There will always be a piece of my heart that is yours. I will miss things about _us_ , but ultimately, we needed to move on. And if there’s anyone that I can be okay with you moving on with, it’s Veronica. She’s just as amazing as you say she is in this article. So put it out there. Let everyone see a glimpse into Jughead Jones’s heart. It will get us attention like we’ve never had before here at our little paper.”

Jughead chuckled.

“Ain’t that the truth?”

Betty and Jughead both grabbed stacks of the latest edition of the Blue and Gold and began putting it on every available surface throughout the school, even going as far as taping it to random lockers through the hallways.

The first bell was just about to ring and Jughead could only hope that by the time school ended, Veronica would have read the article, and that maybe it would have the effect on her that he was depending on. If not, he wasn’t sure what else he could do, or how he would survive another day without her.

\---

Veronica’s eyes darted around the hallways as she looked for Jughead among all the busily moving bodies of her classmates.

She didn’t want to waste any more time. She had to talk to him, she had to tell him how she really felt. And if she needed to, she would beg him to give her another chance.

But she hadn’t seen him before it was time for her to go to her morning ceramics class.

“Hey, Veronica! You should definitely forgive Jughead for whatever it was he did. He’s so sweet!” Ethel Muggs chirped at Veronica took a seat at her table.

Veronica looked at Ethel completely dumbfounded, but before she could ask Ethel how in the world she knew anything about what had happened between her and Jughead, the bell rang and their teacher launched into a lesson about clay slip and how vital it was for a successful pottery piece.

Veronica sat through class, watching the minutes tick by, wanting desperately to get to her English class so she could see Jughead and talk to him. She would have to ask Ethel about her strange comment later. but currently, her mind was set on one thing, and that was talking to Jughead. So when the bell finally rang after what felt like forever, she made a mad dash for the door.

“Forgive Jughead!” She heard someone call out to her as she made her way through the crowded hallway to her next class.

“He wants to make you happy!” Another person yelled out at her from down the hall.

Now she was _really_ confused. People she barely even knew were now aware of her and Jughead. She had no idea what was going on and it was beginning to be a huge concern.

“Oh my God, Veronica! I _never_ would have thought about you and Jughead hooking up, but I _love_ it. And he cares _so_ much about you. Forgive him, girl!” Josie said as she fell in step next to Veronica.

“Josie, how the _hell_ does everyone know about what happened between me and Jughead? It’s really starting to freak me out!”

Josie chuckled.

“Oh? Well, then that means you haven’t seen this yet.” Josie said as she handed Veronica a crumpled paper.

It was a copy of the Blue and Gold, and on the very front of the issue there was a picture of herself followed by an article by Jughead.

“What is this?” She asked as she looked up at Josie.

Josie grinned.

“Just read it.”

Veronica stood in the middle of the hallway, completely perplexed. Her pulse raced as she looked back down at the paper and began to read Jughead's words.

“ ** _If You See Her_**

_By Jughead Jones_

_Most of you know who Veronica Lodge is. If you’ve never met her, then you’ve at least heard of her. And you are likely familiar with who her father is. He’s none other than Hiram Lodge, the president of Lodge Industries, the builder of the SoDale project, and also my boss._

_But I’m not writing this article to promote the company I work for, or to write a literary attack of his daughter for being related to a boss, and an individual, that I’ve never been particularly fond of._

_I’m writing this article to confess to all of you something that is none of your business, but it’s something that I am compelled to confess regardless, and I would shout it from the rooftops if I could. But I can’t shout it from the rooftops (trust me, I’ve already asked Weatherbee), so all I have is this insignificant, practically ineffectual, school newspaper. But it's something, at least, and it's the vehicle for my voice, and what my voice wants to say is that I’m in love with my boss’s daughter._

_I am in love with Veronica Lodge._

_I know what you are all thinking, and I have thought about it too. I’ve asked myself dozens of times what it was that made me fall in love with a girl who has always been the epitome of everything I stand against._

_After all, she’s popular and beautiful and rich and classy and brilliant. But oh, my fellow Riverdale High peers, she’s so much more than that._

_I had the implausibly fortunate opportunity to get to know Veronica on a whole other level, and I discovered so much. More than I could ever write in an amateur school newspaper article._

_I won’t divulge everything I learned about this mysterious enigma that has haunted our school hallways since 10 th grade, but I will tell you all that getting to know the real Veronica Lodge is like getting the key to a treasure you never knew you wanted but it was everything you needed, and you never want to share it or let go or lose it._

_But I lost it. I did something that hurt her. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to fully forgive myself for how much I lost when I lost her trust, lost her friendship, and lost her._

_So if you see Veronica around, maybe ask her if she would be willing to forgive me someday. If you see her, ask her if she is the least bit aware that I’ll do anything in my power to make her happy if she’ll let me. And remind her that I love her with all of my heart and mind, to the ends of the earth and back, and from the depths of my brooding, cynical, apathetic soul._

_Your lovelorn correspondent,_

_Forsythe Pendleton Jones III AKA Jughead”_

Veronica wiped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe what she had just read.

She ran down the hallway to her English class and burst open the door.

Every head of her classmates shot up to see her standing there breathless and frantic.

“Miss Lodge?” Mrs. Peabody asked, her eyebrows raised at how abruptly Veronica had entered.

Veronica's eyes scanned the room, but she didn’t see Jughead. Her heart sank. She was desperate to find him.

“He’s in the gymnasium.” Kevin said with a sly grin, knowing exactly who she was looking for.

Veronica ran back out of the room, but not before she heard Kevin calling out a “Go get him, V!” as she left.

She couldn’t get to the gym fast enough, and quickly pulled off her heels so she could get there faster.

And as she rounded the corner, and pushed open the double doors to the gym, her heart felt like it was ready to burst.

There, in the middle of the gymnasium floor was a sleeping Jughead.

She chuckled as she quietly approached him and knelt down beside him. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his lips. It had felt like forever since she’d kissed him. And when his eyes fluttered open, she lay down next to him so they were facing each other.

“Fell asleep during gym class again?” She asked with a chuckle.

Jughead smiled sleepily at her.

“If you’re really here, then my nightmare is over.” He said as he cupped her face in his hand.

Veronica smiled back at him, her heart pounding furiously in her chest.

“I’m really here. And…I love you, Jughead.”

 

To be continued…

 


	14. Chapter 14

“Get it, Jug!”

Jughead laughed against Veronica’s lips before going back in for another kiss. He wasn’t sure who had yelled out the encouragement but all of a sudden he and Veronica had received a lot of attention ever since Jughead’s article in the Blue and Gold.

Veronica’s arms were wrapped around his neck, her back against the cold metal of her locker as his arms snaked around her waist, holding her close to him.

He couldn’t get enough of her, but more than anything, he wished her could have _all_ of her.

They had officially been together, boyfriend and girlfriend, for a few days already but they hadn’t yet had a chance to be together in the one way he was practically begging for.

“Soon, Juggykins.” Veronica murmured against his mouth as if she had known exactly what he was thinking.

“How soon?” he asked desperately as he nuzzled her, inhaling her intoxicating scent as he kissed along the smooth skin of her neck.

“Friday night…my mom…she’ll be out of town. You can…come…stay the weekend with me…” Veronica said breathlessly between kisses.

Jughead got an immediate thrill throughout his whole body at the thought. He would finally get to be with Veronica alone, no interruptions, and absolutely no clothing involved. As nervous as he was, he was more anxious than anything. He couldn’t stop thinking about how much he wanted to give all of himself to her, in every way imaginable.

“Mr. Jones! Ms. Lodge! No making out in the hallways!” A voice said sharply, followed by a laugh.

Veronica and Jughead looked up to see Betty walking past them, a smile on her face.

Jughead felt relieved at how amazing Betty had been through all of the drama. But the fact that Jughead’s article had people clamoring to know when the next edition of the Blue and Gold would be released made Betty beyond excited at the newfound popularity of the school paper. There had even been talk of sponsors that were willing to pay to have their ads in the paper. Betty was already thinking about all the ways they could increase the quality of their little publication with the potential new cash flow.

But there was one person Jughead still hadn’t managed to make things right with: Archie Andrews.

His best friend since they were babies hadn’t even acknowledged Jughead’s existence ever since he’d found out about Veronica and Jughead’s feelings for each other.

Jughead couldn’t imagine what Archie had thought about the article, if he had even read it at all. But it pained Jughead to know that Archie was still so angry, despite the way he had also betrayed Jughead.

Jughead pulled away from Veronica, knowing the bell would be ringing any second.

“Friday night, huh? I will _definitely_ be there.” He said with a smirk as he gave her one last quick kiss before heading to his next class.

Jughead jogged down the hallway, but slowed down to glance back at Veronica before he turned the corner.

He saw her smiling dreamily while she got her books from her locker, and his heart leapt at the sight. He couldn’t believe she was actually his.

It was surreal that he was dating Veronica Lodge. His world had changed more than he’d thought it would. People noticed him more, spoke to him more, and looked at him more, especially when Veronica was nearby.

All the newfound focus on him was not something he had ever desired for himself, nor thought he would ever receive, but it didn’t bother him as much as it would have in the past. And he knew it had everything to do with the confidence he now had just by being with Veronica.

She made him feel good about himself, she made him feel important. And when she had told him she loved him, he had suddenly felt invincible. Having her love and her heart gave him a new purpose in life. And that purpose was to have someone to care for, who needed him, who he needed in return.

For the first time in a long time, Jughead felt like his life was finally in a good place, that he had someone he could always lean on, and it was all because of a girl he’d never expected would have fallen in love with him.

\---

Veronica hadn’t wanted to talk to her dad. She was still so hurt by what he’d done, by the way he had interfered in her life. But Jughead had encouraged her to at least try to get back on speaking terms with Hiram, even if she wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.

So when she entered her dad’s apartment after school, and found him sitting in his office going over some paperwork, she took a seat across from him.

He stared at her, as if he couldn’t believe she’d actually come to see him.

“I’m only here because Jughead told me that we should talk. So you owe him a huge favor for this.” Veronica said as she glared at her father.

She didn’t have it in her to fake a smile like she had learned to do so well, and all because of him and what he'd taught her about faking it until you made it. She didn't want to follow anything that Hiram had taught her anymore.

“I _will_ repay him. Absolutely. I’m just so thankful you are here.” Hiram replied as he moved his work out of his way in order to give his daughter his full attention.

“Veronica, I’m sorry for what I did to cause you to lose trust in me. As your father, I’m the last person that you should ever feel as if you can’t trust. I deeply regret in interfering with your life and your personal choices. I let my dislike of Archie cloud my view of what’s really important.”

Hiram Lodge sighed sorrowfully. Veronica had never seen her father look so genuinely upset. As much as she wasn’t ready to forgive him, she at least felt as though he was being sincere.

“I understand that you didn’t like, Archie, but you disliked him so much that you were desperate enough to hire Jughead and make a deal with him? And to make it be a deal so extreme that he couldn’t refuse to help you? Do you realize how insane that sounds, daddy?”

Hiram nodded.

“I do. And it wasn’t right. I was just blinded by my need for you to have the best of everything. I didn’t think Archie was it. But I messed up even more since you’re now dating Jughead. Someone who I believe is even worse for you than Archie.”

Veronica scoffed at her dad’s assumption. He was still just as blinded as he had been before.

“Daddy, one of the only reasons why I’m even sitting here right now is _because_ of Jughead. Sure, you might have orchestrated me getting close to him by lying to me, but now that I am, I have no intention of _not_ being with him. So, try and hire someone to break me up with Jug, but it won’t work.” Veronica fumed as she stood up from her chair.

“Veronica, please sit down. I’m sorry for speaking ill of Jughead. I know that he is a good person. He’s an ideal and reliable employee. And I know he does well in school and wants to attend college. But he’s still a roughneck from the Southside. And a gang member. I don’t think that is best for you, and I can’t apologize for being a father that wants the best for his child.”

Veronica sighed. As much as she didn’t agree with her father on so many things, she understood that his idea of the best was different from hers.

“Jughead _is_ the best, daddy. And you would see that if status didn’t matter so much to you.”

Veronica watched as a look of defeat took over her father’s face, realizing that the two of them were just not going to see eye to eye.

“Well, mija…maybe in time I will see things differently. But for now, this is how I feel.”

Veronica nodded as she got up to leave.

“I understand that, daddy. And even though I forgive you and I love you, I still don’t feel as though I can trust you. And for now, that’s how _I_ feel.”

Veronica grabbed a few things from her room before saying goodbye to her father. She promised to continue to try and reconnect with him, to allow him to earn back her lost trust in him. So she agreed to have dinner with him soon and maybe even bring Jughead along.

Hiram didn’t have to accept that Jughead was her boyfriend, but he would have to get used to him being around. And she would never let her father interfere with her love life ever again for as long as she lived.

\---

Jughead knocked on the door of Hermione Lodge’s condo where Veronica had decided to live even after attempting to clear the air with her dad.

She had told Jughead that she still just couldn’t live in the same place with Hiram yet. At least, not until things got better between them, and not until she could somewhat trust him again. Jughead completely understood, and as much as he disliked Hiram Lodge, he was glad that Veronica was trying to get her relationship back with her father.

But it had been convenient for them both that Veronica now lived with her mother because the fact that she was out of town for the weekend bode every well for the new couple. Especially when Veronica answered the door wearing a sexy, black, silk robe.

“Hey.” She said seductively as her eyes looked him over, a sly smile on her face.

“Hey.” He replied, his heart thundering in his chest at the sight of her.

“You look incredible.”

He sighed, feeling unbelievably nervous but so ready to be with her that he ignored his shaking hands and racing pulse.

Without saying a word, Veronica reached out and grabbed the soft, wool lapels of his jacket and pulled him in through the doorway, slamming the door shut behind him.

She covered his mouth with hers while she began to remove his clothes as quickly as possible, never breaking their lip lock. Her unabashed anxiousness to get him naked was a turn on unlike he’d ever had before. It was clear to him that she had been wanting him just as badly as he’d been wanting her.

Veronica took his hand in hers and led him to her bedroom, leaving a trail of his clothing behind them and not saying a word as he sat on the edge of her bed and watched her slip the robe off of her shoulders.

Jughead’s heart roared in his chest as she revealed the lacy black bra and panty set she had been wearing underneath the matching robe.

“Holy _shit_ …” Jughead murmured as his eyes raked her over hungrily.

Veronica approached him slowly, like a feral cat slinking up on its prey.

She tipped up his chin so he was looking into her eyes.

“Think you can handle me, Jones?” She asked with a challenging grin.

Jughead smirked.

“I _know_ I can. Question is, can you handle _me_?”

And with that, he suddenly had her on her back while he hovered over her, his hand quickly pulling down her panties, tossing them to the floor before lowering his mouth to her aching core.

“Oh, god…yes…” Veronica moaned as Jughead’s mouth began to work her relentlessly.

Her hands threaded into his dark hair as he gripped her thighs, spreading them apart as he ravaged her, getting more and more fervent with giving her the pleasure he’d been dying to give to her for weeks.

“Oh…Jug…” She groaned, undulating her body to the rhythm of his mouth.

Within minutes, he had her crying out from an orgasm so intense, her body shook as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jughead kissed her softly on her lips.

“You taste _so_ good.”

Veronica smiled weakly, still spent from how he’d gone down on her, before shoving him onto the bed and sliding down his body to give him what he’d just given her.

The feel of her mouth on his hard length was intoxicating as she looked up at him, smiling as she ran her tongue over him before taking him back into her mouth. The sight made Jughead even harder and he groaned her name as he kept one hand on the back of her head, stroking her silky black hair while he used the other to prop himself up so he could watch her. It was the hottest thing he’d ever witnessed in his whole entire life.

“ _Fuck_ …I’m going to come.” He grunted as his heart raced.

He was in absolute heaven and he hoped the night would never end. Being with Veronica was everything he could ever want or need.

Veronica’s mouth left him throbbing for release while she quickly lowered her body onto his, taking him into herself all the way to the hilt.

They both let out a collective gasp at the mind-blowing sensation of finally being able to make love as she rocked her body on top of his, her eyes closed from the intensely rapturous feeling.

“Juggy…oh god…you’re so… _big_ …fuck…you feel _so_ good.” Veronica whimpered, biting her bottom lip as she rode him vigorously, utterly feverish with her need for him.

He watched closely as she reached behind her back to unhook her bra, sliding the lacy material down her arms and throwing it to the side, exposing her perfectly supple breasts. Like a knee-jerk reaction, Jughead’s hands immediately palmed both of them as he ran his thumbs over the soft, pink peaks. Veronica moaned from the absolutely decadent feeling of his touch on her body.

“You are perfection, Veronica Lodge. Absolute perfection.” He groaned as he lay his head back and closed his eyes, clutching her hips in his hands.

Veronica’s breathless pants and sighs were the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard. Nothing could ever compare to this, and he knew then that he never wanted to live a second of his life away from her. She was the only woman he could ever want, and he was determined that he would marry her someday, if she would have him.

“I love you, Jughead.” She said softly as she came down from another countless orgasm.

He guided her back down on the bed and gazed at her, his finger running over her soft lips before kissing them.

“I love you, Veronica.” He murmured as he slowly and deliberately thrust himself into her.

Their carnal moans mixed with heavy breaths were the only sounds that could be heard in the darkness of Veronica’s small bedroom as he plunged in and out of her switching between going fast or slow, whatever it took to elicit those beautiful sounds from her gorgeous mouth again and again.

Jughead kissed her until her lips were red and swollen, her face flushed, the hair around her face wet with sweat as she wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing him into her even deeper.

“Oh…god…” She wailed as she came over and over as they made love for hours, neither one ready to stop anytime soon.

They had both waited too long for this, and they were going to make the most of every single second they were given.

\---

Veronica woke up with her body aching, but it was the best kind of ache. Jughead had given her a workout unlike she’d ever had before.

Betty had been right when she’d said that Jughead was good at “all of that.”

She sighed dreamily thinking about how incredible her night with Jughead had been, and she chuckled to herself from never knowing that underneath the brooding loner exterior was a man full of lust and passion and intensity unlike she could have ever imagined.

Veronica felt so incredibly lucky, and her heart fluttered at the thought of how Jughead made love to her. The look in his eyes when he came, the way he touched her in all the places she yearned to feel him most. They were so in sync with each other that she wondered how she’d ever be able to live life without him. She didn’t think she ever could.

She heard her bathroom shower running and immediately got a smile on her face as she climbed out of bed, still naked from the night before.

“Good morning.” She said once she’d pulled back the curtain and stepped in to join Jughead.

He looked up at her, smiling as he ran a hand through his dark, wet hair.

“Good morning, indeed.” He replied as he pulled her to him.

He kissed her deeply as he pressed her body against the slick tiles of the shower wall. They made love again as the hot, steaming water ran over them before they collapsed back onto Veronica’s bed, bodies still wet but letting the sheets dry them off as they continued to make love until the early afternoon.

\---

“We should eat something.” Veronica said as she lay on Jughead’s chest.

Jughead chuckled.

“Believe it or not, I haven’t even _thought_ about food until now.”

Veronica laughed.

“Guess you’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

Jughead sighed.

“As much as I don’t want to leave you, how about I go grab us some Pop’s takeout?” He asked as he stroked her hair.

“Sounds great. But how come you don’t want me to just come with you?” She asked, puzzled.

Jughead ran a hand over her bare back.

“Because I don’t want you to put any clothes on. Stay here, in bed, until I get back. We’ll eat and then I’ll make love to you again.”

Veronica smiled as she sat up and looked at him.

“Mmmmm, I think that might be the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

\---

Jughead couldn’t stop smiling as he walked up the steps and opened the door to Pop’s to order food for him and Veronica. He was anxious to get back to her, especially knowing that she was waiting for him with nothing on. The thought immediately made him feel a twitch in his jeans.

“Hey Pop! I need an order to go. My usual and Veronica’s usual.” Jughead said with a big grin as he took a seat at the counter.

Pop smiled back.

“Congratulations, Nighthawk. Glad you two finally worked things out.”

Jughead nodded, feeling more than satisfied as he waited for his order.

“Hey, Jug.” He suddenly heard a familiar voice say from behind him.

Jughead turned his head to see Archie sitting at a nearby booth alone, looking anxious at his best friend who he hadn’t spoken to in weeks.

“Archie…Hey, man.” Jughead replied as he got up from his stool to join Archie at his table.

“How are you?”

Archie shrugged.

“Been better. How are _you_ doing? Things with Veronica going well?”

Jughead wasn’t sure how to answer. It felt as though Archie was asking him a loaded question.

“Uh…yeah…Things are good.” He replied apprehensively.

Archie grinned.

“It’s okay, Jug. You don’t have to feel weird about being honest with me. I’m glad you’re happy. And I’m glad you’re making _her_ happy.”

Jughead smiled, unable to hide how truly happy he really was.

“I’m...I'm really sorry I’ve been distant." Archie continued as he looked down anxiously at his hands.

"To be honest, I was really angry for a while. But…Betty and I…we’ve been talking. She made me understand why being upset doesn’t help anything. She helped me to see where I was in the wrong in the whole situation. And then I felt really ashamed of what I did to you and to Veronica. I’m sorry, Jughead. I should have been a better friend.”

Jughead looked at Archie with wide eyes. He hadn’t expected to hear anything like what Archie had just said and it took him completely by surprise.

“Archie…wow…that really means a lot to me.”

Archie nodded.

“I’m just glad you aren’t telling me to go to hell right now for what I did. I should never have slept with Betty in the first place. I take blame for all of it.”

Jughead shook his head.

“Don’t. It’s not your fault. The way I treated Betty had a lot to do with what happened between the two of you. But…Arch…I won’t make that mistake again. I won’t ever do that to Veronica. I _promise_ you that she won’t ever go through what I put Betty through.”

Archie smiled at Jughead’s words.

“That’s great to hear, Juggy. Veronica is really special. She’s…she’s amazing.”

The two friends talked until Jughead’s to-go order was ready. He said goodbye to Archie with plans to hang out soon. He knew it would be awkward between them for a while, but he wanted things to get back to a good place with their friendship. Archie was like a brother to him, and always would be.

In the meantime, Jughead wanted to be with Veronica as much as he possibly could. Making her happy meant everything to him. And he never wanted to stop being the one to give her everything she desired and deserved.

\---

“Where exactly are you taking me?” Jughead asked as Veronica drove the two of them down an old, dirt road.

The two were finally going on a real date and Veronica could hardly contain her excitement. She had planned a surprise for Jughead that she hoped he would love as much as she loved him.

The past couple of weeks together had been unimaginably wonderful.  It was still surreal to call Jughead Jones her boyfriend, but every time she did, she was beyond proud. No one questioned it, almost as if Veronica and Jughead made just as much sense to everyone else as they made to each other.

He had helped to bring her out from under the cloud of hurt and sorrow that she had been dealing with all on her own. He had been a friend, and a listening ear when she needed it. And although they’d had a bump in the road, he was still proving himself to be the main person she could lean on the most. And it had meant everything to her. She didn’t think she could ever show him enough just how much she loved him, but she sure as hell didn’t mind trying.

“It’s a surprise, Jug!” Veronica beamed as she stopped in front of a rusted gate and jumped out of the car.

“Veronica! Where the fuck are you going?” Jughead asked with a chuckle.

But Veronica put up a finger for him to just wait, smiling mischeviously as she unlocked the gate with the key she’d been given by her dad.

Once she was back in the car, barely having broken a sweat in her Louboutin heels, she drove through the gate and took a winding road until they came upon a huge white screen.

Suddenly, Jughead discovered exactly where she had brought him.

“You brought me in the back way to The Twilight Drive-In? But it’s shut down!”

He looked at her with wide eyes of surprise, not exactly sure what her plan was.

“It’s not shut down anymore. And for tonight, it’s just ours.” She said before giving him a long kiss on the lips.

When they parted, Jughead raised an eyebrow at her.

“What did you do, Lodge?” He asked with a curious grin.

Veronica took his hand in hers.

“Daddy owed you a favor. And he owed me even more. I convinced him to leave the Drive-In alone while he builds SoDale. I don’t care if he has to build around it. This piece of small town Americana is staying intact for good.”

She smiled with total satisfaction while Jughead stared at her in disbelief.

“You did that for _me_?” He asked, completely amazed by what she had managed to pull off.

Veronica nodded.

“I’d do _anything_ for you, Jug.”

Tears began to form in Jughead’s eyes as he pulled her into his arms, his mouth slanting against hers in a deep kiss. Their tongues clashed together with hot, intense passion as his hands cupped her face.

“You’re amazing…” He whispered against her lips before crushing his mouth against hers once more, unable to understand why anyone would do something like that for him.

But he pulled away suddenly.

“Wait, you didn’t sign anything with your dad, did you?” He asked cautiously.

Veronica chuckled.

“Nope. Not even an initial.” She replied.

The two of them got out of the car and headed towards the still standing, yet dilapitated, projection booth.

“Thought you might like to start the reel, you know, for old time’s sake.” Veronica said as she handed him a canister.

“Which movie did you pick?” He asked as he took the round, heavy tin from her and looked it over.

“Play it and you’ll see.” She said with a clever grin.

Jughead loaded the reel of film and took Veronica by the hand as they walked back out to the car and lay a blanket on the ground.

“I haven’t watched a movie here all alone in forever.” He said quietly.

“I used to love it so much. But being here with you tops that, hands down.”

Veronica kissed him softly as she snuggled into him.

When the movie began, she looked up at his face as he looked down at her.

“ _A Streecar Named Desire_? Nice choice.” He said with a chuckle.

“Since we never got to see it that night when we were supposed to go out on our first date, I thought it would be fitting for tonight.” Veronica replied as she took a bag of popcorn out of her purse for her and Jughead to share.

“Did you know that Tennessee Williams moved 16 times in just ten years?” He asked Veronica as they watched Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh’s characters, Stanley and Blanche, meet for the first time.

“I didn’t know that. Wow, poor Tennessee.” Veronica replied, smiling at Jughead’s random knowledge about his favorite playwright.

“The original ending to the play was a lot darker, but of course Hollywood had to tack on a happy ending for the movie version.” He said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed a handful of popcorn.

Veronica chuckled as she climbed onto his lap.

“Oh Juggikins, tell me more. It’s _so_ sexy when you spout film and literary facts.”

Jughead threw the handful of popcorn onto the ground, suddenly not caring a thing about food, before kissing her slowly and evocatively.

“We’re not going to end up watching this movie, are we?” He asked teasingly as he began to unbutton her blouse.

“Nope, but we know how it ends.”

Jughead grinned at her as he lay her down beneath him.

“Thank you for making me the happiest woman alive, my handsome Prince.” She said quietly as he kissed along the soft, sensitive skin of her neck while his hand traveled up her skirt, touching her gently.

He sighed in her ear between kisses.

“Thank you for letting me love you.” He replied with a whisper.

“And I plan on loving you forever and longer. Just like a Princess deserves.”

 

The End.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you that left kudos and comments for me on this story. It was a literary labor of love and I really enjoyed writing it.
> 
> In fact, I love this story so much that I think I might take a suggestion from a reader and write an epilogue to it, so be on the lookout! 
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, please leave me a comment and let me know. Encouragement it always welcomed! ❤❤❤ Love you guys!


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